Research on the fluid characteristics of cemented backfill pipeline transportation of mineral processing tailings

Abstract

With the deepening of underground resource exploitation, the application of cemented backfill pipeline transportation of mineral tailings has become the best option to reduce the risk of deep ground pressure and solid waste pollution. Research in this field is mainly centred on slurry fluidity experiments. However, the slurry transportation parameters, particle characteristics and complexity of the pipeline all cause uncertainty in the calculation of backfill pipeline transportation parameters. The conventional backfill loop test is expensive. Combining structural fluid tests with particle flow models, this paper presents a method to optimize backfill pipeline transportation parameters. The H-B model is employed to analyse the transportation resistance of backfill slurry along the line to establish the relation function between the resisting force and the parameters. Adoption of a custom function improves the accuracy of the inter-phase drag model and the erosion effect. This paper analyses the flow state of the high-concentration solid-liquid dense phase fluid in backfill gravity transportation to obtain optimized transportation parameters. The research results improve the accuracy of the calculation of the backfill pipeline transportation parameters, which can be effectively applied in the optimal design of high-concentration slurry backfill pipeline transportation.

Keywords

• Mineral processing tailings
• Cement backfill
• Pipeline transportation
• Structural flow
• Pipe wall erosion