The use of polyacrylamide-based high-molecular-weight polymer addition at the tailings storage facility (TSF) discharge locations has gained considerable interest in recent years. The intended result of implementing this technique is to have tailings slurry release clear water and create a steepened beach, compared to a conventional tailings slurry disposal method. This paper will focus on a study of a typical iron ore project which required improved water recovery. It has been suggested in previous studies that uneven shear on the polymer dosed tailings deposition on the tailings beach may be problematic. In this testing program, tailings and polymer mixture were tested for water release behaviour under partially sheared and fully sheared conditions. It is concluded that varying the shear regime affects the initial water recovery, up to around two hours after mixing and shearing. At the end of the test, the shear regime had less effect on the overall water recovery. A trade-off comparison between conventional slurry surface disposal and in-line polymer addition disposal is also presented in the paper. The trade-off study demonstrates that the in-line polymer addition technology could provide financial water-saving benefit.

The use of fixed-shape open channels in industrial processes is common in the mineral processing industry. With lack of fundamental understanding about the mechanisms involved in how a turbulent flow of a non-Newtonian carrier fluid transports suspension particles, direct numerical simulation may come into the research as a validation tool. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the turbulent flow of non-Newtonian fluids in an open channel is modeled using a spectral element-Fourier method. The simulation of a yield-pseudoplastic fluid using the Herschel-Bulkley model agrees qualitatively with experimental results from field measurements of mineral tailing slurries. The simulation results over-predict the flow velocity by approximately 40% for the cases considered, however, the source of the discrepancy is difficult to ascertain. The effect of variation in yield stress, flow behavior index, and assumed flow depth are investigated and used to assess the sensitivity of the flow to these physical parameters. This methodology is seen to be useful in designing and optimizing the transport of slurries in open channels.

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In this research, the turbulent behaviour of non-Newtonian suspensions in open channel conditions will be examined and investigated. With lack of fundamental understanding about the mechanisms involved about how turbulent flows of non-Newtonian fluid transport suspension particles, direct numerical simulation may come into the research as a useful validation tool. A better understanding of the mechanism operating in the turbulent flow of non-Newtonian suspensions in open channel flow would lead to improved design of many of the systems used in the mining and mineral processing industries. The main aim of the study is to describe how does a non-Newtonian fluid transport particles in an open channel and validation of a computational model. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the turbulent flow of non-Newtonian fluids in an open channel is modelled using a spectral element-Fourier method. The simulation of a yield-pseudoplastic fluid using the Herschel-Bulkley model agrees qualitatively with experimental results from field measurements of mineral tailing slurries. The effect of variation in flow behaviour index is investigated and used to assess the sensitivity of the flow to these physical parameters. This methodology is seen to be useful in designing and optimising the transport of slurries in open channels. https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/1104_38_Guang/ Direct numerical simulation (DNS) investigation of turbulent open channel flow of a R. Guang et al. Herschel-Bulkley fluid