Abstract The investigation of the wet coal flow characteristics is carried out in a three‐dimensional silo system by experiments and simulations. The effect of the moisture content on the flow characteristics is firstly investigated by experiments, which is in terms of bulk density, angle of repose, and flow rate at outlet. When moisture content is below 9%, the coal particles act as the easy flow mode. When moisture content exceeds 9.8%, the flow pattern turns to be cohesive. For the further understanding of the influence of the moisture content, we develop the continuum method with the effect of moisture content being considered in the mathematic model. The simulation results of the discharge rate and the ash content at outlet have good agreements with a maximum deviation of 7.3%. It is found that the Mixing Index decreases with the moisture content increasing because the moisture strengthens mixing among particles. And the velocity difference between particles in the central axis and ones near the wall grows accordingly. Particles with higher moisture content are easier to get the funnel flow mode. For particles with good flowability, the mass flow mode appears in the silo.
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