Ratholing can occur when coal flow takes place in a channel located above the silo, bunker or hopper outlet. As the level of material in the flow channel drops, a resistance to further flow into this channel occurs due to the material's cohesive strength. If coal has enough cohesive strength, the stagnant material outside the channel will not flow into it, forming a stable rathole. Once the flow channel has emptied, no further material discharge will occur from the outlet resulting in a no-flow condition. Fig. 2 shows an illustration of ratholing. In addition to causing a no-flow condition, ratholes significantly reduce the live capacity of a bunker, silo or stockpile. While there may be a large amount of material present, if that material remains stagnant and would not come out on its own, the volume occupied by that material is essentially a dead volume. As a result, the process or equipment may require frequent filling to keep up with the discharge rate.
When flow obstructions switch or interchange between arches and ratholes, erratic flow results. In a typical erratic flow problem, an arch formed over a hopper outlet may fail due to an external force, such as vibrations transmitted to the hopper, and then material flow will resume and continue until the flow channel formed above the outlet empties out. This will result in formation of a rathole and prevent further material discharge. This rathole can collapse due to a similar external force and the material falling down from the collapsed rathole may get compacted over the hopper outlet and again form an arch, resulting in a no-flow condition. Thus, in an erratic flow situation, material discharges intermittently from the hopper outlet.
While flow stoppages can be a big issue by themselves, when handling PRB coals any material remaining stagnant can pose a danger. This could occur if material flow takes place through a channel within the silo. Then the material outside of this channel may remain stagnant for a long time, depending on how often the silo or bunker is completely emptied. The same problem can occur within gravity-reclaim stockpiles, particularly if significant amount of material remains un-reclaimed. As PRB coals have a tendency for spontaneous combustion, such stagnant material present can pose risk of fires.
In addition to these problems associated with no-flow conditions, when arches and ratholes collapse, sudden dynamic forces act on surrounding equipment. These forces can result in structural damage to walls, floors and feeders. Also, the development of eccentric flow channels within a silo, particularly due to multiple or offset outlets, can result in non-uniform loading along the outer walls of the silo. This situation may cause wrinkling or buckling of the silo.
Additionally, there is often a reduction of BTU content when switching to PRB coal, resulting in an increase in the required volumetric feed rate to compensate. This change can worsen effects of the above-mentioned problems.
Whenever material is transferred from one point to another, conveying systems and transfer chutes come into the picture. Unfortunately, many times transfer chutes get designed at the end of the development phase, requiring them to fit within or stretch to an already fixed layout.
This situation can often result in material flow problems through poorly performing chutes. When material discharged from a belt conveyor impacts a chute surface, its velocity decreases. The larger the impact angle, the bigger is the change in velocity. Sliding friction with chute surface can decrease the stream velocity even further, and the flowing material may halt on the chute surface, creating a plugging condition. Poor chute design or performance can also result in material spillage.
Dusting can occur when material has fines and air currents are present that can carry the fines away. In transfer chutes, if the material stream is not well-controlled, it can lead to hard impacts. The air entrained with the material (especially in fines) is then suddenly expelled, carrying these fine particles away as dust. Dust generation also occurs when local air currents have sufficient velocity to pick up particles from the surface of a stockpile. Dust by itself is a nuisance and, more importantly, it can result in safety concerns including the health effects of operator exposure and the potential for explosions. Hence, OSHA has a strong policy for controlling dust generation