112 / 2021-09-30 16:33:46

Development of Simulation Methods for Dust Suppression System Design in Mining

Dust Control,CFD simulation,dust

Effective airborne dust suppression continues to be a challenge in the mining industry particularly with increasing regulatory requirements being implemented to keep workers safe from diseases such as silicosis and coal workers pneumoconiosis. This study details the development of CAE techniques such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) to optimise the design of airborne dust suppression systems. Through this study, the University of Wollongong has developed a best practice approach to the design of water spraying airborne dust suppression systems. The approach starts with an understanding of the underlying principles for airborne dust capture using water sprays, following this, the application requirements and environmental conditions must be properly quantified, and finally a system can be designed based on the application requirements with the aid of CAE techniques such as CFD and DEM. The result of this project has been the development of validated CFD and DEM models for predicting spray dispersion [1] and dust dispersion [2], as well methods for predicting the dust capture efficiency of spray systems [3]. The use of CFD is shown as a valid method for predicting spray dispersion and coverage, while DEM can be used to predict the particle driven airflows that are often a key source of dust emissions in mining, e.g., at conveyor transfers or when loading into ROM bins. The validity of the work is shown through various industrial case studies implementing the approach to achieve significant reductions in dust concentration. Figure 1 shows various examples of CAE techniques used for the design of dust suppression systems.