Fractal behavior of particle size distribution in the rare earth tailings crushing process under high stress condition

Abstract

To disclose the fractal transformation mechanism of the size distribution of rare earth tailing particles, this paper utilizes the side confined uniaxial compression test to study the evolution rule of the particle size distribution of the rare earth tailing and the particle breakage features under the high stress condition. The fractal behavior of the particle size distribution in the crushing process is studied based on the fractal model and the particle size distribution. The experimental results show that, under the high stress condition, the particle size distribution tends towards fractal distribution due to the particle breakage of the rare earth tailing. The crushing process is closely related to the breakage amount of the particles and can be described with the increased fractal dimension. Although the initial distribution and particle size of the rare earth tailings are different, the measured data of the particle size distribution with the fractal dimension greater than 2.2 shows fairly strict self-similarity, and this value can be taken as the lower limit value of the fractal dimension when the particle size distribution tends towards fractal distribution. When the particle size distribution becomes a fractal distribution due to the particle breakage, the ratio between the volumetric strain and the relative breakage rate remains constant and is slightly affected by the initial distribution uniformity and particle size.