Determination of the influence of moisture content on various mechanical properties of wood pellets

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Abstract

Ab s t r a c t.In recent years, the demand for wood pellets has increased worldwide.Moreover, its production is rising and the number of facilities to store them is increasing as well.Since this product is usually stored in agricultural silos, the loads generated inside them depend on its mechanical properties.Therefore, the purpose of this research was the determination of some mechanical properties such as the angle of internal friction, the apparent cohesion, the dilatancy angle, the grain-wall friction coefficient, or the specific weight of wood pellets subjected to different moisture contents.The main findings of this study were that no correlation was found between the moisture content of the wood pellet samples and any of the following parameters: the angle of internal friction, the effective angle of internal friction, the apparent cohesion, the dilatancy angle, or the grain-wall friction coefficient within the moisture range used in this study.Furthermore, the angle of internal friction ranged from 35.7º to 41.4º.Finally, there was a correlation between the apparent specific weight and the moisture content of the sample.These data may be useful to design suitable, efficient, and cost-effective facilities and infrastructure for the handling and storage of biomass products.K e y w o r d s: wood pellet, mechanical testing, friction, apparent specific weight, moisture

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