Estimation of the bulk density of a coal stockpile

It is shown that the bulk density of a coal stockpile can be readily estimated from the knowledge of the packing conditions of a coal loader. The equations for this purpose are formulated based on the results obtained from model experiments. The validity of these equations are checked by comparing the predictions with measurements of real industrial stockpiles. The results indicate that the calculated bulk densities are well within 5-7% of the measured bulk densities, which is almost within the error of measurement itself.