Abstract
Coal specimens having weights within the range 10-9-103g were broken in crushing tests. The crushing loads were found to vary as the half power of specimen weight, instead of the two-thirds power predicted by simple dimensional analysis. A theory is proposed to account for these facts and this theory is used to provide an estimate of the rupture energy for one coal (Llandebie). The value of energy obtained, 3.0 × 104 erg cm-2, seems to indicate that plastic deformation is occurring in this coal which is normally considered completely elastic. The occurrence of plastic flow in very small particles of any coal under similar conditions of loading is a logical sequence of the theory. This plastic flow has been observed in two of the coals used in this work.
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