- R.P.

KING

1. Define mathematical modelling. A model is a simplified representation of a system at some particular point in time or space intended to promote understanding of the real system. A mathematical model is the description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Models describe our beliefs about how the world functions. In mathematical modeling, we translate those beliefs into the language of mathematics.

most effective, is by digital computer. The digital computer is programmed to mimic the behavior of the actual plant and can provide a description of what the plant will do and how it will perform under a variety of circumstances. 4. What are the reasons for the widespread use of simulation?

Study the behavior of a system without building it. Results are accurate in general, compared to analytical model. Help to find un-expected phenomenon, behavior of the system. Easy to perform ``What-If'' analysis.

2. What are the advantages mathematical modelling?

of

1. Mathematics is a very precise language. This helps us to formulate ideas and identify underlying assumptions. 2. Mathematics is a concise language, with well-dened rules for manipulations. 3. All the results that mathematicians have proved over hundreds of years are at our disposal. 4. Computers can be used to perform numerical calculations.

5. Give any two advantages of simulation. Help the design engineer to find the best flowsheet. Ensure that design specifications will be met under all required operating conditions. Optimize the plant operation by achieving best economic combinations of grade and recovery. Identify potential production bottlenecks. 6. What is a flow sheet?

3. Define simulation. Simulation is any procedure that can be used to model a process without actually running it. There are several ways in which a simulation can be achieved but, by far the

The flowsheet is the graphical representation of the location of the unit 1

operations in the plant together with the network of pipes and conveyors that transmit material between the units. 7. What is dynamic flow sheet? The flowsheet is the graphical representation of the location of the unit operations in the plant together with the network of pipes and conveyors that transmit material between the units. Flowsheet if drawn on a conventional drawing sheet, that may be termed as static flow sheet. But, when it is a drawn on the screen of a computer using a simulator it can be called as a dynamic flow sheet. The simulator mimics the behavior of each of the unit operations and synthesizes the overall performance of the plant.

8. Show how a typical simulation exercise results are plotted?

of that property are distributed among the particles in the entire population. Perhaps the best known and most widely used distribution function is the particle size distribution function P(dp) defined by P(dp) = mass fraction of particles in the population with size less than or equal to dp. The symbol dp represents the size of a particle. The function P(dp) has several important general properties: a) P(0) = 0 b) P() = 1 c) P(dp) increases monotonically from 0 to 1 as dp increases from 0 to . Properties a) and b) are obvious because no particle in the population can have a size less than or equal to 0 and all the particles have a size less than infinity. Property c) reflects the fact that the fraction of the population having size less than or equal to dp1 must contain at least all those particles of size dp2 or smaller, if dp2 _ dp1 . 11. Define Rosin-Rammler distribution function. Rosin-Rammler distribution function defined by: P(D) = 1 exp[ (D/D63.2 ) ] D63.2 is the size at which the distribution function has the value 0.632. 12. Define Gaudin_Meloy distribution function. Gaudin-Meloy distribution is one of the truncated distributions. In the truncated distributions, particle population will have every particle smaller than a definite top size. Populations of this kind occur for example when a parent particle of size D is broken. Clearly no progeny particle can have a size larger than the parent so that the size distribution of the progeny particle population is truncated at the parent size D Gaudin-Meloy distribution is defined by: P(D) = 1 (1 D/D )n for DD 13. What is work index? Work index is the comminution parameter which expresses the resistance of the material to the crushing and grinding. . A reference condition of the reduction of 1 tonne of material from a very large size to a 2

9. What is an Ore Dressing Plant Simulator? An ore dressing plant simulator is a set of computer programs that will give a detailed numerical description of the operation of an ore dressing plant. The simulator must be provided with an accurate description of the ore that is to be processed, a description of the flowsheet that defines the process and an accurate description of the operating behavior of each unit operation that is included in the flowsheet. The simulator uses these ingredients to provide a description of the operating plant. 10. Define distribution function. The distribution function for a particular property defines quantitatively how the values

representative size of 100 microns is considered. This reference energy is called the work index of the material WI. The use of the work index is to assess the energy requirements in mineral processing operations. 14. What is the unit of work index? KWhr/tonne is the unit of work index 15. What is importance of work index? Work index is a term used to represent the energy requirements of a mineral processing operation. KWhr/tonne is the unit of work index. It is desirable to have a low energy consumption per tonnage of processing. 16. What is method? the population balance

d50 is clearly an indicator of the size at which the classifier cuts the particle population. 19. Which are the two competing forces that act on the particle in a hydrocyclone? The classification action of the hydrocyclone is determined by the net effect of the two competing forces that act on every particle the outward centrifugal force and the inward drag force. 20. State the principle on which Karra model is based. Karra model is based is based on the capacity of the screen to transmit undersize material proportional to the screen area. The basic capacity is modified by a number of factors that allow for variations of the feed material and the screen from the standard test conditions. 21. Define deck position factor screen model. for a

Population balance method is the methodology preferred in simulation of mineral processing systems. This is capable of accounting accurately for variations in particle size and mineral liberation characteristics together with other critical properties such as density, mineralogical texture, elemental composition, magnetic susceptibility, energy content, etc. 17. Define a sharpness index in a hydrocyclone. The sharpness index of a hydrocyclone defined by SI = d25/d75 with e(d25) = 0.25 and e(d75) = 0.75. SI has a value between 0 and 1 with low values indicating poor and inefficient separation while a value of 1.0 indicates perfect classification at the cut size d50c 18. Define d50 for a hydrocyclone. The important parameter that characterizes the operation of the classifier is the size at which e(dp) is 0.5. This size is usually called the corrected d50c (corrected) d50c and d50 are defined by the equations e(d50c) = 0.5 and c(d50) = 0.5

The deck position factor K5 :Screens that are lower down in the deck receive undersize from the screen above and can handle less material than a screen that takes fresh feed. The capacity decreases with position according to capacity factor K5. K5 = 1.1 0.1S where S represents the deck position; 1 for top deck, 2 for 2nd deck and so on. 22. Define throw of a crusher. The throw of the crusher is the distance that moving jaw moves in going from OSS to CSS. Throw = OSS CSS.

23. Define breakage function. The breakage function is an important descriptor of the comminution process and is critically important for modeling purposes. It is material specific and varies according to the 3

precise nature of the comminution process. It is a strong function of the impact energy that is delivered during any impact. 24. What is aperture shape factor in a screen model? The aperture shape factor K8: The standard screen has square openings and other shapes influence the capacity as shown below

29. What is over size factor in a screen model? The oversize factor K3 : A screen can handle a greater tonnage of feed material that contains large quantities of oversize material because this material passes directly over the screen and need not be transmitted through the mesh. This is accounted for by the oversize factor K3, which has a value of unity for a standard feed containing 25% oversize material. This factor increases very quickly as the fraction of oversize increases and is given by K3 = 0.914 exp exp (4.22PF (h) 3.50) 30. What is half size factor in a screen model? The half-size factor K2 : Feed that contains a large proportion of material that is considerably smaller than the screen mesh size will be handled more easily by a screen. The standard condition is defined as feed material having 40% smaller than one half of the mesh size. If the feed has more than 40% smaller than one half of the screen mesh size, the half-size factor will exceed unity and vice versa. K2 = 2PF(0.5h) + 0.2 31. State any two physical properties that influence the behaviour of particles in OD equipment. The two most important fundamental properties are the size of the particle and its mineralogical composition. Other properties such as shape, specific gravity, fracture energy, surface area, contact angle and so on are also important and, in some ore dressing operations, can be of overriding significance.

25. State the value of aperture shape factor for round and square apertures. Round : 0.8 Square: 1.0 26. Define near size capacity factor for a vibrating screen. The capacity of the screen is also affected by the presence of near-size material in the feed. The near-size material in the feed is in the size range from 0.75hT to 1.25hT. Considerable quantities of near-size material will inhibit the passage of undersize material through the screen. Th = A.B.C.D.E.F.Gc X screen area 27. What is fly out? Flyout is a graphical box used on a flowsheet to display the important stream properties. They standout on a flowsheet, to draw the attention of the user.

28. What information is displayed in a fly out?

32. What is the use of particle size distribution plot?

38. Draw the model icon of ball mill.

Particle size distribution plot is a visual representation of the distribution of a population of particles. 33. Give the chemical composition of Pyrite. Chemical composition of Pyrite is given by FeS2 34. Give the sp. gr. Of Gold and Silver. sp. gr. Of Gold 15.619.3 sp. gr. Of Silver 10.5 35. State the meaning of cut point in a hydrocyclone. This is the size of the particle that has a 50% chance of leaving in either the underflow or overflow. The cut point is normally represented by the symbol d50 and for spherical particles 36. Draw the crusher. model icon of jaw 40. What is the function of mixing unit? The purpose of solid-liquid mixing is to improve the mass transfer between solid and liquid phases. This objective is accomplished by making the surface area of all the solids available for mass transfer. In a typical 39. Draw the model icon of Knelson Concentrator.

37. Draw the model icon of stockpile.

mineral extraction process where minerals in ore leach into a fluid medium, such as in uranium processing, mineral value is extracted from high solid concentration slurries. 41. Which are the model parameters required for knelson concentrator? 5

PARAMETERS: 1... Maximum recovery of free gold as a function of grain size (RM) 2... Recovery of locked gold in the finest size(RL) 3... Water content of the concentrate in kg solid/liter of water 4... Number of concentrators in parallel 42. Which are the model parameters required for a cone crusher? PARAMETERS: 1...Closed side setting for cone crushers, open side setting for gyratory or jaw crushers 2...Proportion of fines produced during breakage events 3...Impact work index of the material 4...Factor for classification parameter k1 5...Factor for classification parameter k2 43. State the meaning of P (D) = 1.0 In the truncated distributions, particle population will have every particle smaller than a definite top size. Populations of this kind occur for example when a parent particle of size D is broken. Clearly no progeny particle can have a size larger than the parent so that the size distribution of the progeny particle population is truncated at the parent size D P (D) = 1.0 44. What is the pulp phase in flotation? The pulp phase is aerated so that bubbles are formed continuously and rise through the pulp as an upward moving cloud. The solid particles are suspended throughout the pulp by the circulation that is induced by the agitator. At any point in the pulp the bubbles are moving upward relative to the pulp at their local rise velocity and the particles are moving downward at their local settling velocity. 45. What details are available in stream properties? Typical stream properties: Solid flowrate, Water flowrate, Slurry flowrate, Slurry volumetric flowrate, Percent solids by mass, Percent solids by volume, Yield of solids, Recovery of mineral gang , Grade of mineral gang, Recovery of mineral Niqu,

Grade of mineral Niqu, Recovery of Ni, Grade of Ni , Simulated size distribution etc. 46. State the difference between feed stream, internal stream and product stream. Feed stream is that which feeds the material to the processing equipment. Internal stream is that which is inside a flowsheet and does not terminate at the ends. Product stream is the outgoing stream of the flowsheet..

47. State the difference between underflow and overflow in connection with a hydrocyclone.

A hydrocyclone has two exits on the axis: the smaller on the bottom (underflow or reject) and a larger at the top (overflow or accept). The underflow is generally the denser or coarser fraction, while the overflow is the lighter or finer fraction. 48. What is a progeny particle? In the truncated distributions, particle population will have every particle smaller than a definite top size. Populations of this 6

kind occur for example when a parent particle of size D is broken. The offsprings of the breakage of a parent particle results in progeny particles.

terminal velocity vT can be evaluated by balancing the drag and buoyancy forces. 52. State any two advantages of using computer for simulation and modelling. The computer is an essential component of simulation for two reasons: in most systems of interest to the mineral processing engineer, the individual unit operations are so complex that they can only be usefully described in mathematical terms if these can be translated into computer code; in addition the systems of interest reveal complex interactions and interconnections among the individual units. In many cases these complex interactions cannot be described adequately by purely mathematical methods and the ability of the computer to transfer information from one program model to another is exploited effectively to simulate the transfer of actual material, information or energy in a real system. Purely mathematical formulations of complex systems are really effective only when the systems are linear in the mathematical sense. Then the full power of linear and matrix algebra can be brought to bear on the problem. Regrettably most systems of real interest are strongly nonlinear and it is necessary to use the heuristic capabilities of the computer to take the place of purely mathematical descriptions. 53. Define particle size in the context of mineral processing. In mineral processing technology an indirect measure of size is used. The size of a particle is defined as the smallest hole opening in a square-mesh screen through which the particle will fall. Sometimes for particles that are too small to measure size conveniently appropriate indirect measures are used such as the terminal falling velocity in a fluid of specified viscosity and density. 54. Why do the mesh sizes in the standard sieve series vary in geometric progression? The mesh sizes in the standard sieve series vary in geometric progression because experience has shown that such a classification will leave approximately equal amounts of solids on each of the test sieves in a screen analysis. Thus each mesh size is 7

49. What is the difference between over-design and under-design in plant flow sheet development? To design in a manner that is excessively complex or that exceeds usual standards. Some physical system in general not adequately in such a way as to support proper and safe functioning of said item or product thus making it insufficient, dangerous to use. 50. State the function of coal washing plant. Coal washing plant serves several purposes. One important purpose is to increase the heating value of the coal by mechanical removal of impurities. Run-ofmine coal from a modern mine may incorporate as much as 60 percent reject materials. Air pollution control often requires partial removal of pyrites with the ash to reduce the sulfur content of the coal. 51. Define terminal hydrocyclone. velocity in a

If a particle falls under gravity through a viscous fluid it will accelerate for a short while but as the particle moves faster the drag force exerted by the fluid increases until the drag force is just equal to the net gravitational force less the buoyancy that arises from the immersion of the particle in the fluid. The

a constant factor larger than the previous one. The constant factor is usually 21/4 or 2. The mesh sizes in such a series will plot as equidistant points on a logarithmic scale. 55. What do you mean by particle classes? The concept of the particle classes effectively allows us to formulate models for mineral processing systems by describing the behavior of classes of particles rather than the behavior of individual particles. A representative size is associated with each particle size class and it is assumed that all particles in the class will behave in the processing systems as if it had a size equal to the representative size. 56. Why the ambiguous? particle size is

58. Show the arrangement of class sizes, representative sizes and mesh sizes along the particle size axis

The concept of particle size is ambiguous. Particles that are of interest in mineral processing do not have regular definable shapes such as spheres and cubes. The size of a spherical particle can be unambiguously defined as the diameter. Likewise the size of a cube can be defined unambiguously as the length of a side but another dimension could be equally well used such as the longest diagonal. Particle size clearly does not have a unique meaning even for particles with regular shapes. 57. Show how a typical particle size distribution of a population of particles is presented. The value of P can be measured experimentally at a number of fixed sizes that correspond to the mesh sizes of the set of sieves that are available in the laboratory. This data is usually presented in tabular form showing mesh size against the fraction smaller than that mesh.

59. What is the need distribution function?

for

Joint

It often happens that more than one property of the particle is significant in influencing its performance in an ore dressing operation. In that case it is essential to use a description of the particle population that takes all relevant properties into account. The appropriate description is provided by the joint distribution function. 60. What is screen capacity? The traditional method of evaluation of screen performance is the use of a capacity measure. This represents the ability of the screen to accept and handle the feed tonnage of material. The most important assumption in this approach is that the capacity of a screen is directly proportional to its surface area so that the basic capacity is specified at tons of feed per hour per square meter of screen. 61. What is efficiency? Screen transmission

Ideally the screen should be able to transmit all of the undersize material in the feed. In practice, however, not all of the undersize material passes through the screen and the fraction of the feed undersize that 8

does pass through is referred to as the screen efficiency. 62. Illustrate the typical particle trajectories in a hydrocyclone

12-12-2012