Direct measurement of internal material flow in a bench scale wet Low-Intensity Magnetic Separator

• In this work an ultrasound-based measurement method is used formonitoring suspension velocity and build-up of magnetic material inside awet Low-Intensity Magnetic Separator, a process used e.g. inbeneficiation of magnetite ores. Today the only available option is tomonitor material transport between unit operations; i.e. flow rate,solids concentration, and particle size distribution of suspension flowin pipes are measured online using standard equipment.An Acoustic Backscatter System is fitted to the tank of a separator, andused to monitor the internal flow. A method called Ultrasonic VelocityProfiling is used to capture internal velocity profiles. Simultaneously,the backscatter signal intensity is used to get indications about localsolids concentration of the flow, and build-up of magnetic material. Themethods are evaluated in realistic conditions, where the effect ofvarying factors relevant to machine performance is investigated. Theincluded factors are; the slurry feed rate, the slurry solidsconcentration, the magnet assembly angle, and the drum rotational speed.The presented method gives useful information about the internal materialflow inside the separator. The velocity measurements capture the,sometimes complex, internal flow patterns, for example the presence andvelocity of a recirculating flow in the dewatering zone. Additionally,keeping a balanced material loading in the concentrate dewatering zone isimportant to separator performance. Using the signal backscatterintensity it is possible to qualitatively monitor this material loading.Generally these direct measurements can aid in improvements to machinedesign, process optimization, and process control.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Metallurgi och metalliska material (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Metallurgy and Metallic Materials (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Elektroteknik och elektronik -- Signalbehandling (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering -- Signal Processing (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Mineralteknik

Mineral Processing

Signalbehandling

Signal Processing

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