Simulation of simultaneous aggregation and sedimentation

Aggregation and sedimentation of fine particles are commonly encountered ph enomena in mineral processing as well as in many other industrial processes . Previous computer models tend to concentrate on certain aspects of either aggregation or sedimentation but not on both at the same time, even though the two processes often take place simultaneously. This paper describes an integrated random walks based model in an attempt to 'fill the gap'. The m ain features of the model include the ability to simulate aggregation, brea kage and internal re-arrangement of aggregates; to allow aggregation and se dimentation to take place simultaneously; to allow conditions (e.g. particl e concentration) to change either gradually or suddenly during the simulati on; and to have multiple components where each component may behave differe ntly from another. Simple comparison with some available experimental resul ts is presented to demonstrate the versatility of the simulation program. P otential applications and future developments are also discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.