Elsevier

Powder Technology

Volume 367, 1 May 2020, Pages 539-557
Powder Technology

Bulk properties variability and interdependency determination for cohesive iron ore

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2020.04.018Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • This study quantifies bulk property variability and interdependency of a range of cohesive iron ore products.

  • Bulk properties of cohesive iron ores are highly dependent to magnitude of pre-consolidation stress.

  • The flowability (ffc) of samples is categorized as very cohesive to cohesive.

  • A weak correlation between level of moisture content and ffc is found.

  • Ledge angle of repose test results are in the range of 55° to 90°.

Abstract

An ideal unit of bulk transport or storage equipment is able to handle cohesive iron ore with consistent productivity. In practice, however, uncontrollable bulk property variations affect the productivity. Therefore, it is important to understand the effect of uncontrollable variations on the process. This study quantifies variability and interdependency of bulk property of a range of cohesive iron ore products. Three different laboratory tests relevant to storage and excavation processes are used. Using a multi-variate experimental plan, three influencing characteristics of iron ore – type, moisture content and consolidation state – are included. A stress-history dependent behavior is captured in both the shear and penetration tests, with the results being highly dependent on the pre-consolidation stress. The outcome of this study enables future research on minimizing the effect of uncontrollable bulk properties variability of iron ore and other cohesive materials in the design procedure of transport and storage processes.

Keywords

Cohesive iron ore
Ring shear test
Uni-axial consolidation
Penetration test
Angle of repose

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