TECHNICAL NOTES
Mar 3, 2009

Mechanical Properties of Reconstituted Australian Black Coal

Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 7

Abstract

Coal is usually highly heterogeneous. Great variation in properties can exist among samples obtained even at close proximity within the same seam or within the same core sample. This makes it difficult to establish a correlation between uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and point load index for coal. To overcome this problem, a method for making reconstituted samples for laboratory tests was developed. Samples were made by compacting particles of crushed coal mixed with cement and water. These samples were allowed to cure for four days. UCS and point load tests were performed to measure the geomechanical properties of the reconstituted coal. After four days curing, the average UCS was found to be approximately 4MPa . This technical note outlines some experimental results and correlations that were developed to predict the mechanical properties of the reconstituted black coal samples. By reconstituting the samples from crushed coal, it is hoped that the samples will retain the important mechanical and physicochemical properties of coal, including the swelling, fluid transport, and gas sorption properties of coal. The aim is to be able to produce samples that are homogeneous with properties that are highly reproducible, and the reconstituted coal samples can be used for a number of research areas related to coal, including the long-term safe storage of CO2 in coal seams.

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Published In

Go to Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135Issue 7July 2009
Pages: 980 - 985

History

Received: Jun 25, 2007
Accepted: Dec 11, 2008
Published online: Mar 3, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009

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Authors

Affiliations

D. Jasinge
Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Monash Univ., VIC 3800, Australia.
P. G. Ranjith [email protected]
Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Monash Univ., VIC 3800, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
S. K. Choi
Senior Principle Research Scientist, Div. of Petroleum Resources, CSIRO, Clayton, Australia.
J. Kodikara
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Monash Univ., VIC 3800, Australia.
M. Arthur
Formerly, Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Monash Univ., VIC 3800, Australia.
H. Li
Senior Research Fellow, Alberta Research Council, 250 Karl Clark Rd., Edmonton AB, Canada T6T 1X2.

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