2034 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
pressure was obtained at the centre of the cyclone. The dis-
tinct delineation of the air core was evident in the volume
fraction plots whereby the dense fluid exited the overflow
mainly in a swirling pattern against the outer periphery of
the pipe.
The flow pattern was further studied through velocity
plots such as Figure 8, which showed typical rotational fea-
tures of a DMC (Zhang and Lu, 2023), swirling ascending
flow in the centre toward the overflow and mainly descend-
ing rotation toward the underflow in the outer vortex.
Observing the contour plot for tangential velocity together
with the directional vectors highlighted that axial veloc-
ity was relatively low in comparison, with the fluid system
mainly driven by the tangential motion.
Given the representative fluid flow path lines shown in
Figure 9, the section below the vortex finder demarcated
Figure 5. Modelled DMS performance at varying cut points
Table 3. Pilot scale DMS results at a cut point of 2.5 g/cm3
Stream Mass, %
Grade, %Recovery, %
P
2 O
5 SiO
2 P
2 O
5 SiO
2
Floats SG 2.5 16.1 30.1 8.0 23.6 2.9
Sinks SG 2.5 83.9 18.6 51.4
Figure 6. HLS, DMS model and actual DMS pilot testwork comparison for the production of a high grade concentrate
pressure was obtained at the centre of the cyclone. The dis-
tinct delineation of the air core was evident in the volume
fraction plots whereby the dense fluid exited the overflow
mainly in a swirling pattern against the outer periphery of
the pipe.
The flow pattern was further studied through velocity
plots such as Figure 8, which showed typical rotational fea-
tures of a DMC (Zhang and Lu, 2023), swirling ascending
flow in the centre toward the overflow and mainly descend-
ing rotation toward the underflow in the outer vortex.
Observing the contour plot for tangential velocity together
with the directional vectors highlighted that axial veloc-
ity was relatively low in comparison, with the fluid system
mainly driven by the tangential motion.
Given the representative fluid flow path lines shown in
Figure 9, the section below the vortex finder demarcated
Figure 5. Modelled DMS performance at varying cut points
Table 3. Pilot scale DMS results at a cut point of 2.5 g/cm3
Stream Mass, %
Grade, %Recovery, %
P
2 O
5 SiO
2 P
2 O
5 SiO
2
Floats SG 2.5 16.1 30.1 8.0 23.6 2.9
Sinks SG 2.5 83.9 18.6 51.4
Figure 6. HLS, DMS model and actual DMS pilot testwork comparison for the production of a high grade concentrate