Fundamental investigation of particle-fluid flow in the IsaMill grinding process

2004/ 2005年，澳大利亚采矿和矿物加工业的出口额约为560亿美元，约占澳大利亚出口总额的44%。磨矿是从矿石中提取有价值矿物的基本工序。然而，传统的磨削技术效率非常低。新开发的IsaMill技术大大提高了磨削过程的功率效率。该项目旨在通过结合实验和数值研究来了解IsaMill内部颗粒和流体的流动，从而提高研磨性能并降低能耗。这项工作不仅将为斯特拉塔，而且将为澳大利亚的矿物加工工业带来重大的经济效益。

The Australian mining and minerals processing industries generated exports of about $56 billion in 2004/5, representing approximately 44 per cent of Australia's total exports. Grinding is a basic operation that liberates valuable minerals from the host rock. However, conventional grinding technologies are very inefficient. The newly developed IsaMill technique greatly improves the power efficiency of the grinding process. This project aims to understand the flow of particles and fluids within IsaMill through combined experimental and numerical studies, leading to improved grinding performance and lower energy consumption. Such work will provide a significant economic benefit not only to Xstrata but also to the Australian mineral processing industry.