Influence of Rheology on Pressure Losses in Hydrotransport System of Polymetallic Ores Tailings

Abstract

An important trend in mining production intensification, increasing its efficiency and competitiveness in the conditions of modern market relations, is creating a robust transportation basis that could significantly increase the performance of the transportation system with simultaneous reduction of transportation prime cost of minerals and products of their processing. Developing this basis is related to implementing continuous means of transportation among which hydraulic pipeline transport is most common in the mining industry. The calculation of head losses and flow friction characteristic is one of the most important tasks in designing hydrotransport systems. The efficiency of a hydrotransport system depends on solving this task. To reduce the energy consumption and specific amount of metal in a transportation system, mineral processing companies transport processing products in concentrated condition. Such hydraulic fluids typically show initial shear stress (τ 0) and effective dynamic viscosity (η ef), as well as other rheological characteristics that affect the primary parameters of hydrotransport, including head losses.