th Annual Technical Convention

ARIPPA
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Procedures to conduct Fuel

Stockpile Inventories

August 26, 2009

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Items Covered
Coal Pile Maintenance in Preparation for
Stockpile Surveys
Coal Pile Density Procedures
Coal Pile Volume Procedures
Summary and Questions

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Efficient Management of Stockpiles

Provide easy access to material

Maximize load distance efficiency factor
Attain stack/reclaim rates
Meet blending requirements
Maintain or improve uniformity, integrity, and
quality
Minimize manpower or equipment
Safety
Be able to deal with stockpile fires
Reduce environmental impacts

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Stockpile Delivery Methods

Truck dump
Rail dump
Ship or barge unload

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Coal on stockpile
Delivered and stacked as cone
Rate of delivery determines number or shape
of cones
Kidney shape with moving stackout
Or multiple cones
All cones need to be moved
For more deliveries
Safety improvement
Segregation reduction to preserve quality

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Kidney Stackout

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Multiple cone stackout

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Effects of Pile Conditions on

Accuracy

Windrows
Gullies
Inconsistent
Uncompacted
Compacted
Coal quality
Excessive
cones
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Working on pile

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Methods to avoid so moisture not increased

Large flat stockpiles that allow little, if

any, runoff
Possibility of ponding on surface
Pushing coal through low areas that
have standing water while
unloading/reclaiming
Ground water levels higher than the pile
or pile base

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Beneficial Practices in controlling

moisture
Keep stable side slopes, while increasing
maximum height over smallest area
Avoid flat tops
Enhance runoff by compacting surface
AND side slopes
Allow good drainage of the pile
Reduce moisture content of incoming
coal

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Pile construction by Rubber-tired

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Improved conditions=improved accuracy

More consistent density
Less moisture variability
Less water means easier to move and easier
to burn
Consistent quality
Less chance for fire
Smoother surface easier for volumetric
calculations
Better burn rates
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What to do for improving pile conditions

Work the pile in consistent pattern

Dont rush due to time or amount of
delivery
Eliminate gullies from erosion
Eliminate windrows
Compact consistently across the pile
Reduce amount of loose coal in cones
Keep berms to minimum
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Conclusions - Questions

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Coal Pile Density Procedures

ASTM D6347 Standard Test Method for
Determination of Bulk Density of Coal
Using Nuclear Backscatter Depth
Density Methods

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Methods for Stockpile Densities

Nuclear Methods
Depth Density
Surface

Direct Density Methods

Shelby Tube
Water-displacement Method
Continuous Auger Sampling Method

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Depth Density Procedures

Nuclear Density Procedures
Calibration Procedures
CAST Method Procedures

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Preparation of Access Holes

Small diameter Augers
Split spoon / hollow-stem augers
Hydraulic Push

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Installation of Access Pipe

PVC Pipe
small diameter augers
split spoon / hollow-stem augers

Steel Pipe
hydraulic Push

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Nuclear depth density gauge

Troxler Model 1351
Troxler Model 1352
CPN 501

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Recording density counts

Gamma readings
Set of 2 each elevation
Not a density YET!

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Calibration of Nuclear gauge

Same process
Gamma readings
Minimum 4 points
ASTM is 8 points
Linear regression
Forcing curve to a line

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Direct Density Methods

Sampler
Different problems

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Direct Density Methods

Sampling interval
Recovery of sample
Weighing the sample
Calculating the density

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Factors that effect density

Access
Sampling interval
Recovery of sample
Gauge stability
Scale accuracy
Calibration

Calculations
Stockpile
condition
Moisture
Quality
Pile construction

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Coal Pile Volume Procedures

ASTM D6172-98 (reapproved 2004)
Standard Test Method for Determining
the Volume of Bulk Materials Using
Contours or Cross Sections Created by
Direct Operator Compilation using
Photogrammetric Procedures.

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Introduction
On a continuing basis, coal companies, power
generating stations, quarries, aggregate suppliers,
and other entities need to know how much material is
contained in stockpiles at facilities such as mines,
quarries, processing plants, generating stations,
landfills and other storage sites.
Through the use of aerial photography, ground
control surveys, and photogrammetric processes,
stockpiles can be mapped and the volume of an
inventory area can be determined.

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Introduction
This work usually requires a quick turnaround from
the initial flight until the final volumes are calculated.
Many times the photography must occur on a certain
date or within a specified period.
Coal stockpiles are usually needed within a short
period of time, since they may be needed on an end
of month and a mid-month basis.
Landfills and quarries are usually needed within a
month of aerial acquisition.
Weather is always a concern.

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What is Topographic Mapping?

All mapping techniques use data
collection points to approximate the
mapped surface.
Aerial mapping uses photographic pairs
to determine data collection points.
Conventional surveying uses horizontal
angles, vertical angles, and distances to
determine data collection points.

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What is Topographic Mapping?

(continued)

The more data points and the selection

of the data points used, the greater the
accuracy.
It is therefore important to have a
system that allows for a rapid collection
of many data points and coverage for
the entire mapped surface.

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Using the data points collected

Creating a digital terrain model (DTM)
DTM is actually the collection of mass
data points which include spot
elevations, and break/fault lines.
From this a triangulated irregular
network (TIN) is generated.
The TIN is then used to create contours.

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Calculating the volume

To calculate the volume of data points collected you
need to compare the base TIN file with the new TIN
file.
The base contour map is a digital file of the surface
below the stockpile.
The new contour map is a digital file of the data
collected and calculated by the TIN.
The difference of these two digital files is the volume
of the stockpile.

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Basic Needs

Aerial Imagery
Horizontal and Vertical Ground Control
Delineated Limits of Stockpile
Base Map Data

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Aerial Imagery

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Ground Control

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Stockpile Limits

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Base Map

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Base and Control Map

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Control Map

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Standards
American Society of Testing and
Material Standards
American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing Standards
National Map Accuracy Standards
National Coal Weighing and Sampling
Association Needs

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Aerial Photography
Photography Needs
Aerial

USGS Calibrated Aerial Camera

Black and White or Color Film
Contact Prints or Digital Files
Film Diapositives or Digital Scans
Photo Enlargements

Rockwell Shrike Commande

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Aerial photography camera

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Photogrammetry
The illustration shows
how an aircraft flies
along a flight line
(represented on the
ground by a dashed
line in the illustration)
and takes overlapping
photographs. The
dark gray area shows
the overlap area.

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Aerial Image

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Aerial Image

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Ground Control
Permanent, Recoverable
Horizontal and Vertical
Positions are desired
Minimum Four Points
Photo Identifiable or Targeted
XY Coordinate System:
State Plane, or a Local
Plant System.
Vertical Control:
North American Vertical Datum,
or a Local Plant System

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Ground Control
Global Positioning System
(GPS) is used to obtain the
Ground Control for many
projects today.
However, some projects,
such as stockpile
inventories, often require
more conventional
methods due to the
specific requirements of
the project.

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Ground Control

Stockpile inventory
mapping requires
accurate points
surveyed on the ground
to ensure accurate
mapping. In addition to
photo identifiable points,
they can be marked on
the ground with plastic
targets or markers that
are visible in the aerial
photographs.

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Stockpile Limits and Base Map

Stockpile limit Delineation by

Client
Photo Enlargements, Contact
Prints or Digital Scanned
Images are submitted for
Client marking and
verification
Base Map Confirmation by
Client
Client provides Base Map,
usually in Digital Format. If
not in digital format, it will
need to be digitized or
created in a mutually
acceptable method

Aerial Photo of a Coal Mine with Raw and Clean

Piles outlined.

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Photogrammetry

Upon review and approval of (1) the aerial photography, (2) the ground
control information, (3) the delineated stockpile limits, and (4) the
digital base map data, the Digital Stereocompilation begins.
The aerial photography is stereoscopically introduced to an Analytical
Plotter or Digital Soft Copy Workstation.
The ground control data is used to accurately orient the stereoscopic
imagery and a photogrammetric solution is established for the data
collection of the imagery.
The Digital Stereo Mapping Technician compiles the required data
according to the project specifications.
The Technician collects necessary mass points and breakline data,
sufficient to generate a Digital Terrain Model (DTM).
The DTM is used to generate a TIN (Triangulated Irregular Network).

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Photogrammetry
The stereo technician
is using the latest
digital synthetic
stereo viewing
technology to view
the overlap area in
3D. This technology
allows her to digitally
map the terrain in
three dimensions.

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Aerial Stereo Pair

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3D Imaging

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Topographic Mapping

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Volume Calculation
To calculate the volume of the new stereo collected
stockpile, the base elevation TIN file is compared with
the new stereo compiled elevation TIN file.
It is important that the new elevation data meets with
the base file data at the toe of the pile.
The difference of these two digital files is the volume
of the stockpile.
The volume is generated and a Report is prepared
and delivered.

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Summary

Aerial Photography
Ground Control
Stockpile Limit Delineation
Base Map Verification
Photogrammetric Stereo Compilation
Volume Determinations

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Thank You
Summary and Questions

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