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Determination of fundamental mechanical properties of biomass using the cubical triaxial tester to model biomass flow

Journal Article · · Biofuels
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); The Pennsylvania State University
  2. Forest Concepts, LLC, Auburn, WA (United States)
  3. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  4. Forest Concepts, LLC, Auburn, WA, USA
+ Show Author Affiliations
The flowability of biomass is an indicator of how amenable biomass is to handling. The flowability measurements are often determined with empirical or tertiary experiments. This status quo impedes employing engineering principles to advance the design and operation of biomass handling systems. It is imperative to establish an experimental protocol minimizing empirical aspects of flowability characterization to account for the variability of biomass. This study demonstrates the operational principles of the large chamber cubical triaxial tester and the procedure of triaxial tests to quantify bulk flow behaviors of two milled biomass feedstocks, namely corn stover 2 mm (CS) and Douglas fir 1 mm (DF). The Mohr-Coulomb (MC), Drucker-Prager (DP) and modified Cam Clay (mCC) models are calibrated for both biomasses. Analysis indicates that CS will exhibit a cohesive flow with a larger cohesion coefficient of MC (3.8 ± 3.5 kPa) than DF (0.42 ± 0.9 kPa) and a larger d value of DP (6.9 kPa) than DF (0.0 kPa), respectively. CS exhibits a higher spring-back index of mCC (0.39 ± 0.05) than DF (0.27 ± 0.05) also suggesting handling issues, which agrees with the experiences in the industry. This study demonstrates the capability of a CTT in a quantitative investigation of biomass handling characteristics.
Research Organization:
Forest Concepts, LLC, Auburn, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA); USDA; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
Contributing Organization:
The Pennsylvania State University
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0008254
OSTI ID:
1869825
Report Number(s):
DOE-FC-08254-9; U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); DE-EE0008254; PEN-4601; PEN-4601
Journal Information:
Biofuels, Journal Name: Biofuels Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 13; ISSN 1759-7269
Publisher:
Taylor & FrancisCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
Douglas fir
biomass handling
bulk flow
corn stover
triaxial test