AS 1038.

15—1995

Australian Standard 
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Coal and coke—Analysis and

testing

Part 15: Higher rank coal ash

and coke ash—Ash fusibility
 This Australian Standard was prepared by Committee MN/1, Coal and Coke. It was
approved on behalf of the Council of Standards Australia on 28 August 1995 and
published on 5 December 1995.

The following interests are represented on Committee MN/1:

Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Australian Coal Association
Australian Coal Industry Research Laboratories
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Australian Coal Preparation Society

Australian Mining Industry Council
Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia
CSIRO, Division of Coal and Energy Technology
Department of Minerals and Energy, Queensland
Electricity Supply Association of Australia
Institution of Engineers, Australia
Queensland Coal Board
Royal Australian Chemical Institute
Standing Committee on Coalfield Geology of New South Wales
University of Newcastle
University of New South Wales
University of Queensland

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This Standard was issued in draft form for comment as DR 94324.

 AS 1038.15—1995

Australian Standard 
This is a free 7 page sample. Access the full version at http://infostore.saiglobal.com.

Coal and coke—Analysis and

testing

Part 15: Higher rank coal ash

and coke ash—Ash fusibility

PUBLISHED BY STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

(STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA)
1 THE CRESCENT, HOMEBUSH, NSW 2140
ISBN 0 7337 0094 2
 AS 1038.15 — 1995 2

PREFACE

This Standard was prepared by the Standards Australia Subcommittee on Coal Evaluation
under the direction of the Committee on Coal and Coke to supersede AS 1038.15 — 1987,
Methods for the analysis and testing of coal and coke, Part 15: Fusibility of higher rank
coal ash and coke ash.
Major differences from the previous edition are as follows:
(a) Deletion of the heating microscope method.
(b) Deletion of use of a telescope for observing the specimen, because it is now
mandatory to keep a visual record of the determination.
(c) Inclusion of a nominal starting temperature of 900°C.
(d) An update of the precision data.
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(e) Revision of the Sample Clause so that the starting material is ash, not coal or coke.
The objective of this Standard is to provide those responsible for testing coal ash and
coke ash with a standardized procedure for estimating the slagging propensity of ash in a
furnace. The objective of the revision is to bring the test into closer alignment with
current practice.

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 3 AS 1038.15 — 1995

CONTENTS
Page

FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1 SCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4 PRINCIPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6 REAGENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7 APPARATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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8 SAMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9 PROCEDURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
10 INTERPRETATION OF CHARACTERISTIC SHAPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
11 REPORTING OF RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
12 PRECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
13 TEST REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Originated as part of AS CK2.3 — 1949.

Previous edition AS 1038.15 — 1987.
Third edition 1995.
 AS 1038.15 — 1995 4

FOREWORD

The method for determination of the fusibility temperatures of coal ash and coke ash
described in this Standard provides information about the fusion and melting behaviour of
the composite inorganic constituents of the ash at high temperatures. The standard method
is based on the ‘Seger Cone’ method, well known in the ceramic industry, the use of
which predates the year 1900. The conditions of the test, as well as basic studies on the
influence of ash chemistry and gas composition on ash fusibility temperatures, which have
led to the standardization of the method, arose from the pioneering work of Fieldner, Hall
and Feild (1918)*.
In the laboratory, the ash used for the test is a homogeneous mixture prepared from a
representative sample of the coal, and the determination is carried out at a controlled rate
of heating in either a reducing or an oxidizing atmosphere. In contrast, under industrial
conditions, the complex processes of combustion and fusion involve heterogeneous
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mixtures of particles, heating rates that may be several orders of magnitude greater than
those used in the standard test, and variable gas composition.
During the first quarter of this century, laboratory, pilot-scale and field studies were
undertaken to establish that the ash fusibility test could provide a reasonable indication of
the propensity of ash to form fused deposits, referred to as ‘clinker’, in stoker and other
fuel-bed type furnaces (Nicholls and Selvig, 1932)†. Subsequently, the test has been used
as a general indicator of the tendency for ash to fuse on heating and of slagging
propensity of ash in pulverized coal-fired furnaces.

* FIELDNER, A.C., HALL, A.E. and FEILD, A.L. ‘The fusibility of coal ash and the determination of
softening temperature’. US Bureau of Mines, 1918, Bulletin 129, 146pp.
† NICHOLLS, P. and SELVIG, W.A. ‘Clinker formation and fusibility of ash’. US Bureau of Mines, 1932,
Bulletin 364, 72pp.
 5 AS 1038.15 — 1995

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

Australian Standard
Coal and coke—Analysis and testing

Part 15: Higher rank coal ash and coke ash—Ash fusibility

1 SCOPE This Standard sets out a method for the determination of the fusibility
characteristics of higher rank coal ash and coke ash.

2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS The following documents are referred to in this

Standard:
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AS
1038 Coal and coke — Analysis and testing
1038.3 Part 3: Proximate analysis of higher rank coal
1038.4 Part 4 : Coke—Proximate analysis
1152 Specification for test sieves
2096 Classification and coding systems for Australian coals
2243 Safety in laboratories
2418 Coal and coke — Glossary of terms
2508 Safe storage and handling information cards for hazardous materials
2706 Numerical values — Rounding and interpretation of limiting values

3 DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Standard, the definitions given in AS 2418
and those below apply.
3.1 Ash — the inorganic residue after incineration of higher rank coal or coke to constant
mass under standard conditions. In general, it differs in mass and composition from the
original mineral matter.
3.2 Characteristic temperatures
3.2.1 Deformation temperature — the temperature at which the first rounding of the tip
of the specimen occurs (see Figure 1).
3.2.2 Sphere temperature — the temperature at which the height of the specimen is equal
to the width of the base (see Figure 1).
3.2.3 Hemisphere temperature — the temperature at which the height of the specimen is
equal to half the width of the base, its shape being approximately hemispherical (see
Figure 1).
3.2.4 Flow temperature— the temperature at which the height of the fused ash specimen
is 1.5 mm (see Figure 1).
3.3 Higher rank coal (as defined in AS 2096) — coal having a gross specific energy of
21 MJ/kg or greater on an ash-free, moist basis and a gross specific energy of 27 MJ/kg
or greater on a dry, ash-free basis.
3.4 Oxidizing atmosphere — an atmosphere consisting of either carbon dioxide or air.
3.5 Reducing atmosphere — an atmosphere consisting of 50 ±5% hydrogen and 50 ±5%
carbon dioxide by volume.
NOTE: Ashes rich in iron oxide will affect the equilibrium between hydrogen and carbon
dioxide, resulting in poor reproducibility of characteristic temperatures. This is often associated
with frothing of the partly fused material.

COPYRIGHT
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AS 1038.15-1995, Coal and coke - Analysis and

testing Higher rank coal ash and coke ash - Ash
fusibility
This is a free 7 page sample. Access the full version at http://infostore.saiglobal.com.

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