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Simulating a Low Intensity Magnetic Separator


Model (LIMS) using DEM, CFD and FEM
Magnetic Design Software
Conference Paper June 2013

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Vasile Murariu
Metso Corporation
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Simulating a Low Intensity Magnetic Separator Model (LIMS) using DEM, CFD and FEM
Magnetic Design Software

Dr. Vasile Murariu


Metso Minerals Industries, Technology Development
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Abstract
The results of a multiphysics simulation of a Metso Low Intensity Magnetic Separator (LIMS) are
presented. The LIMS model incorporates DEM for discrete elements, coupled with ANSYS CFX for fluid
flow and ANSYS EMAG Magnetic Design Software for simulation of magnetic effects. Slurry flow
patterns in the LIMS separator tank are modeled using CFX and the Drag Force on individual DEM
particles is calculated. The magnetic field intensity and the gradient of the magnetic field across the
separator tank is determined by ANSYS EMAG software and used to calculate the magnetic force acting
on the magnetized particles. Flocculation effects are also taken into account when the inter-particle
interaction forces are computed. The model is currently being used by Metso to improve the design of
wet magnetic separators.

1.

INTRODUCTION

Low intensity wet magnetic separators are primarily used in the processing of magnetite-bearing iron
ores for selective recovery of magnetic from dilute medium streams. A typical flow-sheet for this type
of ore involves integrated grinding and concentration circuits involving several stages of magnetite
separation using 1-3 drums operating in series at each stage.
For many years now, Metso has used High Fidelity Simulation (HFS) techniques to optimize
conventional mineral processing operations. HFS models developed by Metso include tumbling mills,
cone crushers, mill discharge systems, HPGR, Vertimills, flotation cells, pumps, screens, chutes and
conveying belts. More recently, Metsos Technology Development group in Colorado Springs has
developed a sophisticated model for its Low Intensity Magnetic Separator (LIMS). The HFS LIMS model
is currently being used to aid in the design of improved wet and dry magnetic separators as well as to
improve the current Magnetic Separator model incorporated in Metsos Production Simulator tool,
ProSim.

Literature searches show a steady stream of papers being published on magnetic separation of iron
base ores using different separators, but the focus is typically on reporting plant commissioning, trials
work or reviews on different magnetic separators designs and applications. While there remain
researcher groups working on developing models for magnetic separators, their work is more
empirical, involving theuse of plant data or Davis tube data to derive regression equations for recovery
of magnetic and non-magnetic fractions as a function of particle size.
One early empirical model was developed by Wiegel [1] who used Davis tube definition of magnetic
and non-magnetic fractions as a basis for the model. A similar approach is used by Usim Pac mineral
processing simulation software. The software uses discrete size by size component recoveries and it
assumes that these values are constant for a given magnetic separator. Yet another model was
developed by Schneider[2] using the same structure proposed by Wiegel. The difference is that this
model uses detailed size-liberation based information and it assumes that particles are misplaced due
to both bypass and classification.
In contrast to these models, Rayner[3, 4] has developed a model of a magnetic separator in which the
design and operating conditions can affect the separator performance. The model was designed
essentially for cleaning of magnetite and ferrosilicon from heavy media circuits; it seems that it could
be adapted to separators in magnetite-bearing ores. This model had no ability to simulate
operating/design parameters and was mainly an alternative to the models mentioned above.
Ersayin[5] has developed a model of a Low Intensity Magnetic Separator for simulating the effects of
significant operating variables. The model can therefore be used as a tool in circuit design and
optimization. However, as the author has noted, there is no magnetic separator model capable of
simulating the effects of the variables involved in iron ore processing. The approach was therefore to
analyze a large set of plant data and develop a pseudo-liberation model. The pseudo-liberation model
uses cubic spline functions to create a plant operating surface as a magnetic separator model for a
given plant and ore. However, their model does not have the ability to simulate operating/design
parameters.
Later on, Ersayin et al [6], improved their original model by creating an integrated liberation/size
reduction model. This model describes the degree of liberation for a given size fraction, with 12
liberation classes, ranging from free gangue to free magnetite, with 10% volumetric grade intervals in
between the two complete liberation states.
A Population Balance Model developed by Tsouris and Scott [7] for the magnetic flocculation of
paramagnetic particles can be used for magnetite separation. The model defines the flocculation
frequency using the Brownian flocculation model. This model defines particle collision frequency and
the collision efficiency. The collision efficiency function incorporates the particle interaction potential,
which includes the Van der Walls, electrostatic and magnetic potentials.

A group from Moscow State Mining University [8] has focused on studies for improving efficiency of
separation at several Russian iron mines (Kostomuksha, Lebedinskiy, Mikhaylovskiy and Olenegorskiy).
Their studies have shown that the wet magnetic separators have a low selectivity of separation. They
claimed that the removal of inter-grown (non-fully liberated) particles into a separate product can lead
to more efficient and selective disintegration with significant energy saving. They proposed a new
generation of selective magnetic separators which were tested into a pilot plant with promising results.
They concluded that the magnetic selection allows for substantial benefits through process
optimization, including: i) energy savings in the grinding process; ii) reduction of losses arising from
over-ground magnetite in the tailings; iii) increased grain size and iv) avoidance of over-grinding.
An experimental study on the effect of several operational parameters on the efficiency of separation
of a full size Wet Drum Separator was carried out by Davis[9]. A two component model of magnetite
loss has been proposed and the experimental curves obtained were interpreted in terms of this model.
All the models described above were developed without the ability to predict performance changes as
a function of operating/design parameters of the separator. Such a model will require coupling the
slurry flow field with magnetic field intensity, the gradient of the magnetic field and the discrete
movement and interaction of the particles. This paper will present how Metso has managed to build
such a High Fidelity Model using CFD, FEM magnetic design and in-house DEM software packages.

2.

MAGNETIC FIELD GENERATED BY THE DRUMS YOKE

There are three different configurations for the wet magnetic separators depending on the slurry flow
relative to the drum rotation. These three configurations depicted in Figure 1 below are: Concurrent
(CC), Counter-rotation (CR) and Counter-current (CTC). The HFS model described in this paper is
developed for the CTC configuration, but it can be easily adapted to any other configuration. In all
configurations the magnetic field is generated by a system of permanent magnets placed in a certain
configuration so that it generates a large enough field and a strong magnetic field gradient capable of
selectively capturing the magnetic particles from the flowing slurry.

Figure 1. LIMS configurations.

The magnetic force acting on particles carried by the slurry in the magnetic region is a function of the
magnetization of the particles and the gradient of the magnetic field intensity:
(1)

In Eq.(1), Vm represents the volume fraction of the magnetite present inside the particles. In order to
calculate the force we have to know the gradient of the magnetic field at the position of the particles,
the magnetization of the particles at that point and the volume of the magnetite inside that particle.
The gradient of the magnetic field can be obtained by using special FEM software for magnetic design.
There are several available packages such as: Opera, Faraday, EMAG, etc which can be successfully
used to calculate the magnetic field generated by an assembly of permanent magnets. In our
simulation, we have used EMAG from Ansys, and the comparison between the field calculated by
EMAG and the measures data around an identical separating drum is presented in Figure2. The charts
show that calculated field intensity matches measured data nearly perfectly at three distances from
the drum.

Figure 2. Magnetic field Induction (B in Gauss) modeled vs. measured at three distances from the
magnets surface. The blue line represents the model while the red dots are the measurements.
The other parameter required in Eq.(1) to calculate the force is the magnetization of the particle. If the
particle contains a paramagnetic material then the magnetization is proportional to the field intensity
but in this case we have to use High Gradient Magnetic Separation (HGMS) in order to capture this kind
of particle. In most cases when LIMS is used the particle contains magnetite and the magnetization is a
function of the magnetic field intensity at the position of the particles. In such a situation, the
magnetization can be obtained by experimental measurements using a VSM (Vibrating Sample
Magnetometer) which can provide the magnetization curve of a sample containing a known amount of
magnetite. Such a magnetization curve is presented in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3. Magnetization curve for a magnetite sample obtained with a VSM


The magnetization curve shows that a particle can reach the saturation magnetization if the magnetic
field intensity in which the particle is placed is high enough (above 6000 Oe). By inspection of the plots
in Figure 2, it can be seen that the magnetic yoke of a LIMS produces a much lower field even very
close to the drum surface (around 2000 Oe at the surface of the drum). Therefore, the magnetite
particles in LIMS will always have a variable magnetization depending on where it is situated relative to
the drum. If the particle is close to the drum, then the magnetic field produced by the magnetic yoke is
higher and consequently the magnetization is higher (see Figure 3) and thus the attractive magnetic
force is larger.
The magnetic force generated by the magnetic yoke is not the only force acting on the particles from
the magnetic point of view. The flocculation process is always present when magnetite particles are
placed in a magnetic field. In this case, the particles will interact with each other by small magnetic
forces of a much lower magnitude compared to the one described above in Eq.(1). These dipole-dipole
forces have very short range but are very strong when the particles are very close to each other. This
force is computed using the formula below:

(2)

In Eq.(2)

and

represent the magnetization of particle 1 and 2 respectively while r is the distance

between the particles. It can be easily noticed that the force is inversely proportional to r4 and therefore is a
short range force. The dipole-dipole interaction will force the particles to align themselves along the magnetic
field lines and create chains of particles.

3.

SLURRY FLOW MODEL

The particles containing the magnetite are carried into the magnetic field generated by the drum by a
fluid. This slurry is flowing within a tank which has a different design depending on what configuration
is chosen for the separation (see Figure 1). In order to calculate the drag force acting on the particles
we have to model the slurry flow within the tank and to generate a velocity vector map and a pressure
map. The results from the CFD model can be then used to calculate the drag force and the buoyancy
force acting on the particles carried by the fluid. The model presented in this paper has used the CTC
configuration of the tank. The CFD package used to model the flow was CFX from Ansys. Figure 4 shows
the tank design created with the Design Modeller from Ansys.

Figure 4. The tank design of the CTC configuration

The resulting velocity flow field is presented in Figure 5, while the streamlines are shown in Figure 6.

Figure 5. Velocity field of the slurry flow within the CTC tank

Figure 6. Streamlines of the slurry flow for the CTC tank

Drag force on each particle is computed using the formula below:


(3)
where

represents the drag coefficient which is a function of the Reynolds number,

density, is the velocity of the solid particle relative to the fluid velocity and
area of the particle.

is the slurry

is the cross-sectional

The buoyancy force on each particle is given by the formula:


(4)
is the volume of the particle and g the gravitational acceleration.

where

The model doesnt consider the influence of the solid particles on the slurry movement because the
solid particles are very small (around hundreds of microns) and the concentration of the solids in the
slurry is relatively low (up to 10% by volume).

4.

DEM coupled model for LIMS

The final step in building the multiphysical model of the LIMS is to combine the DEM code with the
FEM results for the magnetic field and the CFD results for the slurry flow. The DEM code is solving
Newtons Law of motion by calculating the resultant force acting on each solid particle at every time
step. Based on the resultant force the particles are moved to a new position, the new resultant force is
calculated and so on.
In order to calculate the magnetic force, the position of the particle within the magnetic grid must be
obtained. The position of each particle within the magnetic grid is obtained at every time step by using
a searching algorithm. The magnetization of the particle is then calculated by interpolating the known
magnetic field intensity values at the vertices of the cell in which the particle is situated. Once the
magnetization of the particle is known, the magnetic force can be easily computed using Eq.(1).
The flocculation force calculation requires a search for all the neighbor particles within a certain range
around the main particle. The search for the neighbor particles is already done by the DEM code when
the particle-particle contact forces are calculated. Thus, the flocculation forces are easily calculated by
checking the list of the neighbors and by using Eq.(2).
The same methodology is used to calculate the drag force. The position of each particle on the fluid
grid is obtained by a similar searching algorithm. The drag force is then computed using Eq.(3).
The remaining forces (gravitational, buoyancy, friction and contact forces) are computed in the DEM
code.
The coupled model built for the CTC LIMS configuration uses all the design and operational parameters
as variables for the model. These input parameters can be varied for each simulation and the effect on
the recovery efficiency can be easily studied. The list of the input variables contains:
-

Clocking position of the magnetic yoke. The magnet system can be rotated or off-set in
order to modify the gap and thus to vary the capacity of the separator;

Rotational speed of the drum shell. This parameter would affect the recovery efficiency and
the cleanness of the product;
Slurry flow rate - would affect the efficiency and the capacity of the separator;
Percentage solids in the slurry with immediate effect on the recovery efficiency and
capacity;
Size distribution and the magnetic susceptibility distribution within each size class;

The output of the model will give information on:


-

The recovery of each size class;


The grade of the product and tailings;
Misplacement of the particles by size and magnetite content;
Wear maps;

Figures 7 and 8 below show results from a simulation of the CTC configuration.

Figure 7. Snapshot of the LIMS simulation. Particles are colored by the percentage magnetite content.

Figure 8. Snapshot of the particles attached to the drum


Figure 7 shows the particle split into concentrate and tails. The ones containing more magnetite are
attracted to the drum and discharged at the top, while the less magnetic ones are sent into the tails on
the right. The color of the streams is a clear indication of the fact that the magnetic particles are
captured by the drum while the non-magnetic ones and the feebly magnetic ones are discharged into
the tails.
Figure 8 shows a close-up of the first impact region with the drum. Note the flocculation of particles as
they align themselves along the magnetic field lines.

5.

CONCLUSIONS

The paper has presented a coupled DEM, CFD and FEM model of a Wet Low Intensity Magnetic
Separator developed by Metsos Technology Department group in Colorado Springs, USA. The model
has been created to simulate the current magnetic separators Metso manufactures for the iron ore
industry and to study the possible improvements of these separators. Such a model can offer a
tremendous benefit in correctly sizing the units for a particular plant and/or to offer process guaranties
based on the specific application.
The model described in this paper has been built for the wet CTC configuration but can be easily
adapted to any other configuration or even to dry magnetic separation or Medium Intensity Magnetic
Separators (MIMS). More importantly though, the model can be used to study the effect of all
geometric and operational parameters of the separator on the efficiency of the separation. By
contrast, models developed by other researchers are empirical models and cannot predict the
influence of operating and design parameters on the performance of the separator.

A key innovation in the development of this model has been the inclusion of the flocculation process.
The flocculation process is is very important in predicting the entrapment of non-magnetic particles
into the magnetic stream. As flocculated particles containing non-magnetic material move along the
drum surface towards the discharge outlet they must pass through regions where the magnetic field is
constantly changing. These changes in magnetic field along the drum continually create and destroy
the floccs and thus contribute to the cleaning process of the concentrate. Such a phenomenon couldnt
be investigated without creating a model in which the flocculation is not present.
In many practical situations the magnetic separation concentration plant contains several separators in
series. The concentrate from the first separator is fed into the second one and so on. It is well known
that the magnetite is a ferromagnetic material so once has been exposed to a magnetic field will have
a remanence magnetization. The model has been built to take into account this effect. Thus, if we
model a separator which is fed from a previous separator then the magnetic particle will have a
remnant magnetization.

6. REFERENCES
1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

6.

7.
8.

Wiegel, R.L., "Simulation of magnetic Taconite Concentration Processes" PhD Thesis,


Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Queensland, Brisbaine,
Australia, 1976.
Schneider, C.L. and King, R.P., "Modeling of Taconite Comminution and Liberation Simulation",
Internal Report, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, University of Utah.
Rayner, J.G. and Napier-Munn, T.J - "A Mathematical Model of Recovery of Dense Medium
Magnetics in the Wet Drum Magnetic Separator", Internal Report,
JKMRC,
Brisbane,
Australia.
Rayner, J.G. and Napier-Munn, T.J - "A Mathematical Model of Concentrate Solids Content for
the Wet Drum Magnetic Separator", Int. J. Miner. Process., 70, 2003, 53-65.
Ersayin, S. - "Low Intensity Magnetic Separator Modeling: A Pseudo Liberation Approach",
Internal report, Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory, NRRI,
University
of
Minnesota, USA.
Ersayin, S., Bond, W.M., Arola, J., Struke, R.S. and Kettunen, B. - "Simulation Assisted
Performance Improvements in Iron Ore Processing Plants", Technical Report, Coleraine Minerals
Research Laboratory, NRRI, University of Minnesota, USA.
Tsouris, C. and Scott, T.C. - "Magnetic Flocculation of Paramagnetic Particles", AIChE Summer
Meeting, Denver, Colorado, August 14-17, 1994.
Bikbov, M.A, Karmazin, V.V. and Bikbov, A.A - "Low-Intensity Magnetic Separation: Principal
Stages of Separator Development - What is the next step?", Phys. Sep. Sci. Eng, Vol. 13, No. 2,
2004, 53-67.

9.

Davis, J. J. and Lyman, G. J. Magnetite Recovery Using a Wet drum Separator, Proc.
Australas. Inst. Min. Metall., No. 287, 1983, 51-60.

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