AISTech 2019 — Proceedings of the Iron & Steel Technology Conference

6–9 May 2019, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA

DOI 10.1000.377.021

Coal Rheology – A Practical Approach for Industry

Ted Todoschuk1, Louis Giroux2

1
ArcelorMittal Dofasco
1390 Burlington Street E.
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8N 3J5
Phone: 905-548-4796
Email: ted.todoschuk@arcelormittal.com
2
CanmetENERGY
1 Haanel Drive
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 1M1
Phone: 613-996-7638
Email: louis.giroux@canada.ca

Keywords: Coal, Rheology, Gieseler Fluidity, Dilatometer, ASTM

INTRODUCTION
For metallurgical coals, rheology is routinely measured to understand their respective caking abilities during the coking
process. Both fluidity and dilatation parameters can be used to establish coals freshness and to monitor aging phenomena
when coals are stockpiled. At ArcelorMittal Dofasco (AMD), as coal brands can be stockpiled up to four months when the
shipping season is closed, coal rheology is measured on a weekly basis to establish if any potential coal aging issues arise.
This paper will propose a practical approach to the rheology data to help improve the interpretation of these test results for
coke plant operations.

BACKGROUND
Coal rheology is a measurement of a bituminous coal’s ability to soften, swell and resolidify into a semi-coke when heated.
This is a fundamental characteristic describing the caking ability of a coal, which allows it to transform into coke in a coke
oven. What is key in making an acceptable quality coke is that coal components have to soften and swell, and that
temperature ranges where individual reactive components soften and swell overlap to create a strong coke matrix. To
determine these characteristics, two ASTM tests are performed: Gieseler Plastometer and Dilatometer (Table 1). Further
details on these tests can be found in the ASTM Standards Volume 05.06(1)

Table 1. Rheology Tests

ASTM No. Test Parameters Measured
D2639 Gieseler Plastometer ∙ Initial softening temperature (°C)
ꞏ to measure and define the plastic or fluid ∙ Maximum fluidity temperature (°C)
properties of a coal. ∙ Solidification temperature (°C)
ꞏ sample is ground to pass a 425µm, a No. ∙ Plastic range (°C)
40 sieve. ∙ Maximum fluidity (ddpm – dial divisions per minute)
D5515 Dilatometer ∙ Softening temperature (°C)
ꞏ to measure and define the contraction and ∙ Maximum contraction temperature (°C)
expansion properties of a coal. ∙ Maximum dilatation temperature (°C)
ꞏ sample is ground to pass a 250 µm, a No ∙ % Contraction
60 sieve. ∙ % Dilatation

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 199

Industrially, coals are ground prior to mixing or ground during mixing in a coal handling station prior to charging into the
coke oven. It is common practice to grind the coal blend to ~80% -3mm. The purpose of this stage is to allow for mixing of
the blended components and to have optimum sized petrographic coal reactives and inerts in the blend. It is desired to have
large reactives and fine inerts in the final coal blend to optimize the resultant coke matrix strength. To understand the
expansion and contraction behaviour of a coal blend in the coke oven, many cokemakers utilize the ASTM D2014(1) sole
heated oven test as it utilizes a coal sample of the same particle size as that in an industrial oven (~80% - 3mm). Since coal
rheology performance will be a function of coal maceral size, it must be realized that the rheology characteristics of a coal or
blend will be different in the sole heated oven from that of the standard rheology tests. However, what is most important is
that all three test results can be used in combination to describe the rheology properties of the coal or coal blend. This
includes utilizing the temperature information that is also measured during the test.
All coals will begin to react with oxygen in air as soon as extracted from a mine. Oxygen will cross link with the carbon in
the coal, which will lower a coal’s ability to swell and soften. As coal “ages”, it picks up more oxygen from the air. Severe
aging in coal can lead to poor coke quality. As oxygen uptake in coal is unavoidable, the coals selected at AMD are those
having shown to have acceptable “shelf” life. This is because coals arrive at AMD by Laker boats from mid-March when the
Welland Canal opens until its closure in late December. Our coals are stockpiled for several months during the four winter
months. Coal rheology tests will thus be very important and useful in indicating any deterioration of a coal’s ability to soften
and swell as they “age”.
Each coal component is transported by rail from the mine sites to ports on the Great Lakes. Each train is sampled and
analyzed so that with every shipment of coal, AMD receives rheology data from the coal suppliers to ensure that all coal
components have acceptable rheology levels prior to arriving. Other analysis such as chemistry and petrography are also
performed and supplied. The AMD Coal and Coke Laboratory performs performance checks on received train samples to
verify and ensure of the supplier’s data. The Coal and Coke Laboratory also performs routine r&R tests on their rheology
equipment to ensure the integrity of their results. It should be noted that our philosophy is first coal of each brand in is first
one to be used so that the coal piles are continuously turned over. The next season’s coal upon arriving in the spring are
placed in a separate part of the pile location to ensure that the oldest coal is completely used before starting utilization of the
“fresh” coal.
A daily coal sample is collected and composited each week for each coal brand used. To eliminate any possible aging issues
in the composite sample in the lab, it was decided in 2016 to perform rheology testing on the Sunday daily sample to monitor
any possible rheology issues for any coal component. A weekly “Coal Parameters Report” is generated showing both fluidity
and dilatation for each component. Both of these parameters are certainly important to cokemakers, but their interpretation
and ability to detect genuine issues can be improved by studying other rheology test parameters such as temperature range.
For each test, the temperature range is measured, which indicates the temperature difference between the coal’s initial
softening and resolidification. In AMD’s view, the temperature range is a better indicator to determine if aging is an issue
and thus should be considered in evaluating coal data over time, be it daily, weekly or monthly.
At AMD, a four-coal blend is used. A typical blend is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. ArcelorMittal Dofasco Coal Blend

Coal Percentage (%) MM Ro %) VM (%)
LV 25 1.55 18.7
HV "A" 35 1.04 33.0
HV "B" 15 0.98 34.8
HV "C" 25 0.92 36.8

All the coals that are used have a reasonable shelf life, but the HV “C” does have limited storage time. The last shipment of
this coal for the year is delivered in December and is used up by mid-February, when a three-coal blend is used. Routinely
measuring the extent of coal aging is very important when the coal has to be stockpiled for four months. This paper discusses
how AMD handles the interpretation of the data generated.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The coal rheology data from March 2017 to December 2018 for the US Appalachian coals used at AMD is summarized in
Appendix 1. Also included is the data when a Western Canadian coal was used in the blend. Western Canadian coals cannot
be interpreted like Appalachian coals as they are quite distinctive and unique in that they possess quite different yet
distinctive petrographic characteristics which impact coal rheology. Compared to US Appalachian coals, Western Canadian

200 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

coals have lower vitrinite (reactive) and higher inert levels, especially semi-fusinite which can be as high as 50% reactive
when coked. Due to the higher inert levels, their rheological properties will be lower compared to Appalachian coals of the
same rank, so their interpretation will be different when determining effect of their rheological properties on resulting coke
quality.

Gieseler Platometer
The Gieseler plastometer is used to measure the plastic properties of a given coal. The apparatus used is shown in Appendix
1. For this test, coal of a specific size (100% -0.425mm) is placed in a crucible with a rabble arm stirrer and assembly heated
at 3°C/minute up to 550°C. A constant torque is applied to the stirrer. The latter will not rotate until the coal begins to soften
and will continue to rotate “freely” until the coal mass has resolidified upon further heating. This stirrer rotation rate is the
total dial divisions undergone by the stirrer in one minute, or better known as ddpm. There are 100 dial divisions for each
360° of rotation. A typical Gieseler plastometer output is shown in Figure 1.
The temperature at which a given coal softens (T1), reaches maximum fluidity or maximum stirring rate (T2), and resolidifies
(T3) are measured. The difference between the resolidification and softening temperature is defined as the temperature
range.
The property/parameter most often reported is the maximum ddpm of a given coal. Also noted are the T1 (Tsof), T2 (Tmax)
and T3 (Tresol) temperatures shown in Figure 1. The issue is that the maximum fluidity is not always the best indicator of the
degree of coal “aging” and can cause a false negative. The actual ddpm can be quite variable for many reasons, most notably
the original head sample size, size consist, petrographic makeup of the test sample itself and possible issues of coal jamming
and breaking during heating in the plastometer retort. For the AMD sample, a small cut from a daily sample is collected so
this may not be truly representative but will provide a data point in time. Data trends are plotted over the given year to
determine if the coals being used have any detectable aging issues.

Figure 1. Gieseler Plastometer Result

Figure 2 shows the maximum fluidity results for the HV “B” coal. This coal on delivery has a maximum fluidity of 30,000
ddpm every shipment. Upon stockpiling the coal for several months, a decrease in fluidity would be expected, but one would
expect this to be gradual over time. In the weekly data, however, maximum fluidity ranges from 2,500 ddpm to 36,000
ddpm. The logical question to be asked is “Is this coal aged to a point where coke quality and battery operation will be
affected?” The coke plant operation needs to know if there will be possible pushing and coke quality issues. This can be
difficult to interpret but there is additional information from this test that is much more reliable in conjunction with maximum
fluidity.
In Figure 3, both the maximum fluidity and temperature range are plotted. With respect to Figure 3, several points are
circled. These points show that both the maximum fluidity and temperature range are lower than expected. Since the fluidity
test is performed in duplicate, for these days, a third test would have been done and averaged. However, this would not
indicate if there is a problem with the coal being used or a test sample quality issue. This variability in this time period is not
uncommon as this particular coal has been stored for many months over the winter and the stockpile can run low. In this

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 201

case, since both the maximum fluidity and temperature range are lower than expected, we test the next day’s sample to
determine if this drop continues. In this case, we can see if the next values do recover, but waiting a week can be harmful for
both battery operation and coke quality.

Figure 2. Gieseler Results for HV "B"

Figure 3. Gieseler Results for HV "B" with Temperature Range Included

From July to October, the maximum fluidity is highly variable for this coal for whatever reason. However, the temperature
range over this period is quite stable. If the maximum fluidity is lower than expected but the temperature range is ≥ 80°C,
then we conclude that the coal age is not an issue and no further testing is required for that week. As can be seen in Figure 3,
the next day sample results rebound with the next sample and no further action is required.
A similar trend can be seen for the HV "C". Based on previous AMD work, coals of this rank are more susceptible to
undergo aging with long storage time. The maximum fluidity and temperature range are both plotted in Figure 4. As can be
seen in the February to March 2017 period, there is an expected decrease in fluidity as the pile is being diminished.
However, when the fresh coal is tested, we can see over the timeline that values can be as low as 200 ddpm. Since this coal
is used in the blend at 25%, we need to know if we are able to use it. It is difficult to make a firm decision knowing that the
coal arrived with acceptable rheology values and it is difficult to conceive that a coal will age this fast. Our coals are packed

202 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

in the pile to a level >950 kg/m3 and sealed so aging this fast is not plausible. Coke quality has also not decreased when using
this coal, so it appears that the coal has maintained adequate caking properties.

Figure 4. Gieseler Results for HV "C"

Looking at the temperature range, we have put a lower limit of 60°C for this coal. As can be seen in 2018, although the
maximum fluidity is variable, the temperature range meets this lower control limit and we have no issues with coke quality
during this time. Using the temperature range has definitely given us a more consistent parameter to make decisions.

Figure 5. Gieseler Results for a Western Canadian MV Coal

As previously mentioned, Western Canadian coals have distinctive petrographic characteristics that are significantly different
than their US Appalachian counterparts. This is due to their distinctive geological period and mode of formation. These
coals with higher inert levels do not show the high rheology values accustomed to by many Appalachian coal users.
Although their rheology values are lower than those of Appalachian coal, they perform well in industrial coal blends and
produce cokes with high strength and CSR. Because of their high inert levels, they contract more and thus push with lower
pushing amps. The maximum fluidity for a typical Western Canadian MV coal, in range 20-80 ddpm, is shown in Figure 5.
What is distinctive is the relatively constant temperature range of 60°C. Using the temperature range, allows for a high
degree of confidence that caking properties of this coal are intact.

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 203

The US Appalachian LV coal results are shown in Figure 6. With this coal the maximum fluidity ranges from 34 to
246 ddpm, but the temperature range is consistently above 60°C indicating no aging issues. Confidence is confirmed when
utilizing the temperature range information especially for coals with lower rheological properties such as low volatile coals.

Figure 6. Gieseler Results for LV

The HV "A" coal used in the AMD blend has exceptional fluidity potential including a very wide temperature range, Figure
7. This coal has never exhibited any aging issues, and because of its wide temperature range of 110°C, allows this coal to act
as an excellent bridge coal between blend components. With this high maximum fluidity and temperature range, aging of
this coal is not an issue with storage time for AMD.

Figure 7. Gieseler Results for HV "A"

Dilatometer
The dilatometer is used to determine the contraction and expansion characteristics of a given coal. The apparatus is shown in
Appendix 3. For this test, a coal pencil of 60mm in height is prepared. This pencil is placed inside a retort and heated at 3°C
per minute until the sample reaches 520°C. A piston is placed on top of the coal pencil and its vertical displacement, either
negative for contraction or positive for expansion, is measured upon heating. The coal mass will start to soften and contract

204 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

on melting and then expand upon further heating, depending on its rank and petrographic makeup. A typical dilatation
profile is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 Typical Coal Dilatation Results

The nature of the test is such that a more representative contraction of a coal is best measured using the sole heated oven, as
contraction in dilatometer test is more of a “slumping” phenomena due to the weight of the piston on top of the coal pencil.
However, dilatation is a good indicator that a coal has adequate caking properties. Similar to Gieseler maximum fluidity,
dilatation can be variable for a given coal as seen with the HV "B" coal in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Dilatometer Results for HV "B"

As seen in Figure 9, typical dilatation values range from 40% to 210%. These results make it difficult to determine if aging
issues are of concern. Similar to the arguments for the Gieseler plastometer, the coal sample tested is a point in time, but we
also have the temperature data to consider. The temperature range used is defined as the difference between the final
dilatation temperature and the initial softening temperature (FDT-IST). This temperature range may not be exactly the same
as that from the Gieseler test due to particle size differences between the tests and the fact that the dilatation test uses a

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 205

formed pencil, but the values have the same meaning. As presented in Figure 10, the temperature range for HV "B" is stable
between 90°C and 116°C, indicating an acceptable caking potential for this coal.

Figure 10. Dilatometer Results for HV "B" with both Dilatation and Temperature Range
Similar to the response for the Gieseler values, if the temperature range is in an acceptable range, no further testing is
required for that week. If both the dilatation and temperature range are suspect, then again, a sample from the next day is
tested to confirm.
For the HV "C" coal, the dilatation results including temperature range are shown in Figure 11. This coal, which is a low
rank component of the AMD blend is expected to have a short shelf life. As the coal pile diminishes towards the middle of
winter, there are concerns about coal age and its impact on coke ambient strength and CSR. Knowing if there will be any
issues is imperative to operations since AMD uses this component at 25% of the blend.

Figure 11. Dilatometer Results for HV C"

Dilatation values ranging from 0% to 60% may be a concern to operations if only dilatation is reported. Examining the 2018
data, swings in the dilatation can be quite noticeable, but the temperature range is consistently >60°C. With this additional
data/information, we are confident that the coal is not aged to a point where coke operations and coke quality would be

206 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

impacted negatively. Taking a coal of this rank out and using greater amounts of other more expensive HV’s would have
negative economic impact to the overall coke cost at AMD.
Typical Western Canadian MV coal dilatation results are shown in Figure 12. As noted earlier, Western Canadian coals have
higher amount of inerts, which results in lower fluidity and dilatation results than those of Appalachian coals of similar rank.
Despite these lower rheological levels, these coals perform quite well in an industrial coal blend and make excellent coke.
One needs to understand and appreciate the data generated with these coals and not to relate these at face value with those of
Appalachian coals.

Figure 12. Dilatation Results for Western Canadian MV Coal

As can be seen in Figure 12, the temperature range is very consistent above 70°C where the actual dilatation values can vary
from 5% to 55%. The temperature range data provided by the test is most valuable to a Cokemaker.
The US Appalachian LV coal results are shown in Figure 13. This graph shows again how dilatation can vary, but the
temperature range remains quite consistent. There is a high degree of confidence that this coal has maintained its caking
properties.

Figure 13. Dilatation Results for LV

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The HV "A" coal has very high rheology properties described in the discussion on fluidity. The dilatation performance of
this coal is shown in Figure 14. This coal has a consistent dilatation of >250% and temperature range of 120°C. This is a
very good example of the consistency of the temperature range. It must be noted that the equipment has an upper limit
depending on the LVDT used, but at this dilation level, the point is this coal readily dilates!

Figure 14. Dilatation Results for HV "A"

Proposed Temperature Range Metrics

From the above Gieseler fluidity and dilatation results, the goal of this exercise is to develop temperature range metrics or
KPIs. Based on the data presented, minimum temperature ranges for both rheology tests are proposed and listed in Table 3.

Table 3. Minimum Temperature Ranges

Coal Gieseler Dilatometer
Temperature Range (°C) Temperature Range (°C)
LV 60 60
HV "A" 100 100
HV "B" 70 85
HV "C" 55 50
WCC MV 50 85

NEXT STEPS
As mentioned previously, coal rheology properties will be a function of coal grain size, coal petrographic properties, i.e.
reactive types and amounts, inert types and amounts and the reactivity of the semi-fusinite, bulk density of the coal sample,
heating rate, etc. For the standard rheology tests, a constant heating rate of 3°C per minute is used so that fixes this
parameter.
Both the Gieseler and dilatometer tests require the test sample to be stage crushed to pass 40 and 60 mesh screens,
respectively. The standards do not state lower limits for sample screen size, just that it must pass. Is it possible then that one
coal could contain for example greater percentage of say -100 mesh material than another coal? If this occurs and surely does
so from differences observed in HGI test among coals, one can then expect various results compared to say a test sample that
has lower percentage of -100 mesh.
In fact, considering the hardness (HGI) differences measured for low, medium and high volatile coals, there will certainly be
various size distributions used in a rheology test. In processing the test samples, laboratories use pulverization equipment to
crush the material to pass the required sieve for that test. As long as the sample passes the required mesh size, it is not

208 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

ground further, but the amount of work to reduce or pulverize the sample will be a function of the coal hardness which is turn
is a function of the actual coal rank and petrographic makeup.
To understand how coal sieve size contributes to the overall maximum fluidity and dilatation, a study is currently underway
that performs Gieseler and dilatometer tests on various size fractions after pulverization. The standard test procedures will be
used as the reference. Appalachian coals containing low volatile to high volatile matter contents and with various HGIs are
being studied first, followed by testing a suite of selected Western Canadian coals. The test matrix is summarized in Table 4.
For both rheology tests, the effect of test sieve size on the resulting temperature ranges will also be studied.

Table 4. Rheology Tests Based on Screen Size

Gieseler (mesh) Dilatometer (mesh)
LV -40 (reference) -60 mesh (reference)
40 x60 60 x 80
60 x 80 80 x 100
80 x 100 100 x 140
100 x 140 140 x 200
140 x 200 -200
- 200
HV "A" As above As above
HV "B" As above As above
HV "C As above As above

CONCLUSIONS
1. Both maximum fluidity and dilatation are good indicators of a coal’s plastic properties and ability to coke but can
exhibit appreciable variability.
2. The measured temperature ranges from these tests is a much more stable and better indicator of a coal’s extent of
aging.
3. For both the Gieseler plastometer and dilatometer tests, the Maximum Fluidity and % Dilatation should continue to
be reported, but the temperature range should also be reported in the test sample report.
4. The temperature range should be used to determine if a second test sample need be collected and tested.
5. To trigger the decision for carrying out a retest, the suggested minimum temperature ranges should be used in
conjunction with the Maximum Fluidity and % Dilatation.
6. It is suggested that the control limits for rheology tests should be reevaluated perhaps annually for each coal brand.

REFERENCE
1. ASTM Volume 05.06 – Gaseous Fuels: Coal and Coke; Catalysts; Bioenergy and Industrial Chemicals from Biomass

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 209

 APPENDIX 1
Coal Rheology Data Summary
Coal Gieseler Fluidity Dilatation
Max. Temperature Dilatation Temperature
Fluidity Range Range
(ddpm) (°C) (%) (°C)
Average 125 70 57 75
LV Stdev 44 4 12 4
Min 34 62 17 68
Max 246 84 77 90
Average 34412 112 297 124
HV "A" Stdev 1871 3 13 11
Min 28891 103 221 108
Max 36093 120 335 170
Average 24559 89 125 101
HV "B" Stdev 10819 6 36 5
Min 2457 72 38 90
Max 35898 104 211 116
Average 1262 68 19 72
HV "C" Stdev 931 6 16 9
Min 185 45 0 48
Max 4596 83 59 87
Average 41 64 28 81
WCC MV Stdev 19 4 16 3
Min 16 57 5 75
Max 83 74 55 89

210 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

 APPENDIX 2
Gieseler Plastometer (1)

(a) Retort Assembly

(b) Furnace Assembly

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 APPENDIX 3
Dilatometer Assembly (1)

A. Piston movement and temperature recording device

B. Mechanical recording or transducer assembly
C. Sheathed thermocouple
D. Piston
E. Retort tube
F. Piston collar
G. Refractory insulation
H. Furnace core
I. Heating elements
J. Furnace casing
K. Test specimen
L. Threaded plug
M. Holes for retort tube (15.0 ± 0.1 mm diameter on
hole centre radius of 20.0)

212 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.