Abstract Blending granular materials is necessary to achieve consistent quality for shipping and transport. In mining stockyards, the level of blending is influenced by the operations including stacking, reclaim, conveying and transfer. While sufficient blending is often only evaluated by the quality of the as-shipped product, this paper presents a method to quantify the physical blending process at a particle level through simulation. A Discrete Element Method (DEM) modelling analysis was undertaken on a continuous belt conveyor system connected in series via perpendicular transfer chutes. Two granular materials, M1 and M2, with different densities, were modelled as spheres, each comprising a different portion of the total system throughput. Flow was modelled with M1 loading the system from one conveyor and M2 from another. The two materials were then transported and blended through a number of additional transfers up to a total of seven. Three transfer geometries having different head heights and incorporating two different deflectors were investigated. A steady state section of burden on the conveyor belt following each transfer was analysed using three different measures. The study investigated the influence of the modelled particle properties, the design of the transfer through variation in the type of deflector used and head height on blending and homogenisation. Particle properties and deflector design were both found to influence blending and homogeneity. The analysis strongly indicates that a homogenous product is attained following the seven transfers considered. The study also illustrates the use of DEM in evaluating blending in conveyor transfer systems and the approach outlined may be used to quantify the impact on overall blending operations.

中文翻译：

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输送机输送系统混合仿真与分析

摘要 混合颗粒材料对于实现一致的运输和运输质量是必要的。在矿山料场中，混合水平受堆垛、取料、输送和转运等操作的影响。虽然充分混合通常只能通过发货产品的质量来评估，但本文提出了一种通过模拟在粒子级别量化物理混合过程的方法。离散元方法 (DEM) 建模分析是在通过垂直传送槽串联连接的连续带式输送机系统上进行的。两种具有不同密度的粒状材料 M1 和 M2 被建模为球体，每个球体都占系统总吞吐量的不同部分。流动建模为 M1 从一个传送带加载系统，M2 从另一个传送带加载系统。然后，这两种材料通过多次额外的传输进行运输和混合，最多可达七次。研究了具有不同头部高度并包含两个不同偏转器的三种传输几何形状。使用三种不同的措施分析每次转移后传送带上负载的稳态部分。该研究调查了模拟粒子特性、通过所用偏转器类型的变化以及头部高度对混合和均化的变化的转移设计的影响。发现粒子特性和偏转器设计都会影响混合和均匀性。分析强烈表明在考虑的七次转移后获得了同质产品。