Ignition behavior of bituminous coal dust deposited between two hot surfaces forming wedges of 60 degrees, and 90 degrees is experimentally studied. Three thermocouples placed along the symmetry plane of the wedge cross-section at various heights from the apex (lowermost, middle and top) are used to record the transient temperature data. Results show that ignition always occurs around the region surrounding the top thermocouple in the case of 60 degrees wedge and both the top and the middle regions in the case of 90 degrees wedge. The trends are explained by investigating three parameters affecting the ignition behavior, namely, the heat transfer from the hot plate to the coal dust, the subsequent chemical heat release, and the heat transfer between different regions within the coal dust. Furthermore, an experimental setup, similar to the standard ASTM E 2021 test, is used to determine the minimum ignition temperatures of coal layers of various thicknesses and to assess the ignition scenario in the wedge configuration using an effective length scale. Measured quantities such as minimum hot plate temperature that causes ignition and the ignition time, as well as the transient heat release rate and heat conducted between various zones, calculated based on the temperature data are used to quantify the three parameters and their effects on ignition behavior. (C) 2011 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.