W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
101–107
OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF
A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM IN A BACKFILLING
SYSTEM
OPERACIJSKA PROCESNA SIMULACIJA IN OPTIMIZACIJA
KONTINUIRNEGA SISTEMA PRAZNJENJA V SISTEMU ZA
POLNJENJE SILOSOV
Weicheng Ren
1,2
, Shaohuai Wang
3
, Rugao Gao
3*
, Dengpan Qiao
4
1
North China University of Science and Technology, School of Mining Engineering, no. 21, Bohai Road, Tangshan 063009, Hebei, China
2
North China University of Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Mining and Safety Technology of Hebei Province, no. 21, Bohai
Road, Tangshan 063009, Hebei, China
3
Central South University, College of Resources and Safety Engineering, no. 932, Lushan Road (South), Hunan Changsha, Hunan, China,
410083
4
Kunming University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Land and Resources Engineering, no. 68, Wenchang Road, Kunming 650093, China
Prejem rokopisa – received: 2018-08-19; sprejem za objavo – accepted for publication: 2018-10-12
doi:10.17222/mit.2018.181
In existing tailings-discharge (TD) systems, the feeding, settlement and discharge are conducted alternately in multiple vertical
silos. A model of continuous TD, which differs from the aforementioned model, is proposed to solve the problems of the high
fluctuation in underflow concentration and the relatively low, unstable actual discharge concentration in vertical tailings silos.
The continuous discharge of the tailings in the silo was simulated using computational fluid dynamics software. In the
simulation, four slurry-underflow conditions were selected to record the corresponding compression-region height and the
variation of the slurry concentration with that height based on preset monitoring curves. In addition, a relationship between the
tailings volume fraction and silo height was obtained by fitting, and a predictive model was proposed for the change in the
volume fraction of the underflow tailings with the compression-region height. A new working mode of the discharge system in
the backfilling system was proposed, and fluent software was used to simulate the new discharge system. Industrial field tests
verified the reliability of the results of the numerical simulations. It greatly improved the work efficiency of the vertical silos as
it reduced the number of working vertical silos, omitted the process of completely discharging and charging the silos, and
simplified the preparation of the slurry materials. With these advantages, the model guaranteed the filling efficiency and quality.
Applying the proposed model of continuous TD for vertical silos effectively overcame the technical problems facing the existing
TD systems in mines.
Keywords: tailings, discharge system, continuous discharge, backfilling system, simulation
V obstoje~em sistemu praznjenja rudarskih odpadkov oz. jalovine (TD; angl: tailings-discharge) se polnjenje, hramba in
praznjenje jalovine izvaja v ve~ vertikalnih silosih. Avtorji so za razliko od obstoje~ega modela predlagali nov model
kontinuirnega TD, ki re{uje probleme velike fluktuacije v koncentraciji pretoka in relativno majhne nestabilne koncentracije
materiala v vertikalnih silosih za jalovino. Kontinuirno praznjenje jalovine iz silosa so simulirali z uporabo programske opreme,
izdelane na osnovi ra~unalni{ko podprte dinamike fluidov. Za simulacije so izbrali {tiri razli~ne pogoje toka go{~e jalovine, da
bi ugotovili odgovarjajo~e vi{ine podro~ij pod tlakom in variiranje koncentracije go{~e z vi{ino na osnovi obstoje~ih krivulj
opazovanja. Dodatno so z ra~unalni{kim prilagajanjem ugotovili zvezo med volumskim dele`em jalovine in vi{ino silosa in
predlagali model za napoved spremembe volumskega dele`a jalovine v podro~jih oz. na vi{ini s podtlakom. Predlagali so nov
na~in delovanja sistema za praznjenje silosov z uporabniku prijazno simulacijsko programsko opremo. Pilotni industrijski
preizkusi so potrdili zanesljivost rezultatov numeri~nih simulacij. Mo~no se je izbolj{ala delovna u~inkovitost vertikalnih
silosov in tudi zmanj{alo se je njihovo {tevilo, ne da bi pri tem pri{lo do motenj v procesu kompletnega praznjenja ali polnjenja
silosov. Poenostavljena je bila tudi predpriprava jalovinskih materialov. S temi prednostmi model zagotavlja u~inkovito
polnjenje in njegovo kakovost. Z uporabo predlaganega modela za kontinuirno TD vertikalnih silosov so u~inkovito re{ili
tehni~ne probleme obstoje~ega sistema praznjenja rudarskih silosov z jalovino.
Klju~ne besede: jalovina, vertikalni silos, sistem praznjenja, kontinuirno praznjenje, sistem ponovnega polnjenja, simulacija
1 INTRODUCTION
With the implementation of a sustainable develop-
ment strategy in China, green mining technology has
become the primary focus of technical innovation in
mining.
1–4
Because of its safety, high recovery ratio and
low impact on the surrounding environment, the backfill
mining method has caused more mines to build filling
systems to implement backfill mining.
5–6
As an integral
part of a filling system, vertical silos (VSs) can load,
store and discharge tailings slurry (TS). The discharge of
the tailings from VSs is important, and its underflow
concentration and slurry flow regime affect the efficien-
cy and costs of filling. However, various problems are
faced by the existing methods for tailings discharge
(TD); for example, multiple silos working simulta-
neously to discharge tailings alternately, discharge
underflow requiring secondary slurry, and the underflow
concentration appreciably fluctuating, making it difficult
to control. Using fewer VSs and maximizing their
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 1, 101–107 101
UDK 622.693.2:544.272:004.942 ISSN 1580-2949
Original scientific article/Izvirni znanstveni ~lanek MTAEC9, 53(1)101(2019)
*Corresponding author e-mail:
*gaorgcsu@163.com

efficiency cannot only save on infrastructure, water and
electricity costs considerably, but also improve the
uniformity and density of the fill under working con-
ditions. Therefore, research on VSs must be conducted.
Some progress has been made in research into the
dynamic sedimentation of the tailings in thickeners.
7–14
A tailings silo involves the process of loading tailings
before discharging the slurry. As shown in Figures 1 and
2, this can be divided into two separate processes to
reflect the actual situation, i.e., (i) filling the silo with TS
and (ii) tailings accumulating in the silo. To date, most
studies on VSs have been aimed at improving the
discharging slurry concentration. The direction of such
research involves optimizing the structure of the tailings
silo and developing new nozzles. Deep cone thickeners
are now explained by a relatively complete theoretical
system, but not so related applications for VSs. In the
existing TD systems, feeding, settlement and discharge
are alternately conducted in multiple VSs. A continuous
TD model, which differs from the existing models, is
established, and Figure 3 shows the two different
continuous-discharge scenarios.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Materials
The tailings used for the experiments were collected
from the first filling station in the Dahongshan copper
mine in Yuxi, located in Yunnan Province, China. The
main physical properties were measured using specific
methods and instruments, and the chemical composition
was measured using X-ray fluorescence spectral analysis
(the tests were performed at the Ministry of Education
Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution
at Peking University). The main physical properties and
the chemical constituents are listed in Tables 1 and 2,
respectively.
Table 1: Physical properties of the tailings
Porosity
(%)
Average
particle size
(mm)
Permeability
coefficient
(cm/h)
Specific
gravity
(g/cm
3
)
43.04 0.1165 0.9 2.897
Table 2: Chemical constituents of the tailings
Component Content (%) Component Content (%)
SiO
2
76.37 Na
2
O 0.09
TiO
2
0.17 K
2
O 0.04
Al
2
O
3
0.68 Total oxide 86.177
Fe2O3 5.83 LOI 13
MgO 0.44 Ni 0.0988
MnO 0.007 Cu 0.0451
P2O5 0.16 Co 0.0082
CaO 2.39 Cr 0.5606
As listed in Table 2, the main chemical constituents
of the tailings are SiO
2
,Fe
2
O
3
, and CaO. The contents of
SiO
2
and Fe
2
O
3
are more than 82 %, which could im-
prove the later strength of the backfill. The content of
CaO is 2.39 %, indicating that the tailing has a small
amount of activity. The content of recycled metal is rela-
tively low, and poisonous or harmful elements are
present in traces or absent in the minerals. An analysis
shows that the tailings are made of inert materials and
meet the selection conditions for mining filling ma-
terials.
2.2 Grading tests
The tailings were divided into seven graded groups,
i.e., +100 mesh, –100 + 200 mesh, –200 + 325 mesh,
–325 + 400 mesh, –400 + 500 mesh, –500 + 625 mesh,
W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
102 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 1, 101–107
Figure 3: Model of continuous discharge
Figure 1: Process of filling silo with tailings slurry (TS)
Figure 2: Process of tailings accumulating in the silo

and –625 mesh. The tailings of each particle size were
weighed after screening. Table 3 lists the measured pro-
portion of tailings for each particle size. The –325 + 400
mesh, +500 – 400 mesh, and 500 – 625 mesh groups had
relatively low proportions of tailings and therefore were
incorporated into the –625 mesh group with a total pro-
portion of 31 %.
Table 3: Grading of all the tailings from the Dahongshan copper mine
Mesh Percent (%)
+100 24
–100+200 23
–200+325 22
–325+400 8
–400+500 5
–500+625 1
–625 17
Total 100
2.3 L-pipe tests
L-pipe tests were conducted in the Dahongshan
copper mine of the Yuxi Mining Co., Ltd. The slurry
volume concentration was varied as 0.5271, 0.5271,
0.5421, and 0.5703. Figure 4 shows a photograph of one
L-pipe test. The stowing gradient is 6.8, based on the
actual situation in the mine.
2.4 Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation
Geometrical model
A geometrical model was established based on the
actual size of the tailings silo, which was 9.0 m in
diameter and 23.0 m in height. The feeding mouth was
located 1.5 m from the top surface center and was set to
overflow the mouths on the top. The underflow mouth
was located at the bottom of the cone. Figure 5 shows
the geometrical model of the silo.
The mixture model was established to obtain the
standard k– epsilon solution.
15–16
The acceleration due
to gravity was set to 9.8 m/s
2
; the primary phase was
liquid with a density of 998 kg/m
3
, and the secondary
phase was solid with a density of 2.897 kg/m
3
. The solid
phase of the tailings was divided into four groups based
on the screening results. During the screening
experiments, the percentage of each particle group was
determined based on the actual measurements of the
tailings’ particle size. Each grade was assigned an
average particle size, and the volume fraction of each
particle-size category was calculated as given in Table 4.
Table 4: Settings of the solid granular phase
Diameter, mm 0.165 0.1195 0.0605 0.0335
Percent, % 24 23 22 31
Volume fraction 0.0312 0.0299 0.0286 0.0403
2.4.1 Calculation equations
1) The continuity equation for the mixture is as
follows:
∂
∂t
vm () ( )
 
mm m
+∇⋅ =
 (1)
Where
 m is the mass transfer, kg;
 v
m
is the average
velocity, m/s;  m
is the mixture density.
2) The momentum equation for the mixture is as
follows:
[]
∂
∂t
vv vpvv
g
()() ( )  !
 mm mmm m m m
T
m
  
  +∇⋅ =−∇ +∇ ∇ +∇
++Fv v
k
n
+∇⋅
⎛ ⎝ ⎜ ⎞ ⎠ ⎟ =
∑
k k dr. k dr. k

1
(2)
where n is the phase number;
 F is the body force, N/m
3
;
μ
m
is the mixture viscosity, Pa/s
–1
;
 v
dr. k
is the drift
velocity of the second phase, m/s;  k
is the volume
fraction of the k phase.
2.4.2 Boundary conditions
1) A doubly symmetric plane was used to reduce the
computing time and save the computing resources. Cal-
W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 1, 101–107 103
Figure 5: Geometrical model of the silo Figure 4: Photograph of the L-pipe test

culations were conducted on a grid covering only a
quarter of the volume of the tailings silo. The wall was
stationary and subject to the no-slip boundary condi-
tion.
17,18
2) Free export was used at the overflow outlet face.
3) The TS had a volume concentration of 0.13 and a
speed of 3.276 m/s at the feeding inlet face. The velocity
(v
f
) function is given below:
v
Q
D
f
f
f
=
4
3600
2
π
(3)
where Q
f
is the slurry feeding ability (m
3
/h) and was
equal to 300 m
3
/h, and D
f
is the diameter of the inlet
face and was equal to 0.179 m.
4) The underflow outlet face was set velocity outlet.
The velocity (v
u
) function is given below:
v
Q
D
u
u
u
=
4
3600
2
π
(4)
where Q
u
is the slurry-underflow ability (m
3
/h) and was
equal to (74, 72, 70, and 68) m
3
/h, and D
u
is the
diameter of the inlet face and was equal to 0.179 m. The
corresponding slurry-underflow velocity was (0.291,
0.283, 0.275, and 0.267) m/s, respectively.
5) A gravity field was applied in the calculation do-
main, and standard atmospheric pressure (1 bar) was
used as the reference atmospheric pressure.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 CFD simulation results
The contours of tailings density and water volume
drawn from the results of the numerical simulations are
shown in Figures 6 and 7, respectively. Figure 8 shows
the distributions of the particle volume fraction for the
diameters of (0.165, 0.1195, 0.0605 and 0.0335) mm.
Figures 6 and 7 show that a dynamic balance can be
achieved for different heights of the compression region
(CR), when feeding, underflow and overflow remain
stable. The greater the height of the CR, the higher the
volume fraction of the underflow.
Figure 8 shows the distributions of the volume
fraction for the four tailings particle sizes.
3.2 Analysis of the simulation results
1) The following conclusions were obtained by com-
paring the distributions of the volume fraction for the
four tailings particle sizes. As is well known, the coarser
tailings particles settle faster than the finer backfilling
particles. Therefore, the distributions demonstrated a
hierarchical pattern because of the natural gradation that
occurs in a VS. The volume fraction was concentrated at
the bottom of the compression region (CR), whereas the
0.165 and 0.1195 mm tailings and the particle phases
0.0605 and 0.0335 mm in diameter were concentrated in
the middle-to-upper part of the CR.
2) CFD software was used to simulate the underflow
volume concentration as a dynamic balance. The ob-
tained heights of the CR were (8.8, 9.3, 10.6, and 11.3)
m for a feeding ability of 300 m
3
/h and underflow abi-
lities of (74, 72, 70, and 68) m
3
/h, respectively. As listed
in Table 5, the simulations achieved accurate underflow
volume concentrations for the four CR heights via the
monitoring curve (i.e., 0.5271, 0.5421, 0.5582, and
0.5703, respectively).
Table 5: Underflow concentrations for different heights of the CR
Q
f
(m
3
/h) Q
u
(m
3
/h)
Compression
area height(m)
Underflow volume
concentration
300
74 8.8 0.5271
72 9.3 0.5421
70 10.6 0.5582
68 11.3 0.5703
W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
104 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 1, 101–107
Figure 6: Density contours of tailings for different heights of the
compression region (CR)
Figure 7: Contours of the volume fraction of water phase with
interface levels of: a) 8.8 m, b) 9.3 m, c) 10.6 m, and d) 11.3 m

3) The relationship between the height of the CR and
the underflow concentration was recorded using moni-
toring curves. Figure 9 shows that an exponential
relationship could be established between the underflow
concentration as the abscissa and the height of the CR as
the ordinate.
The following predictive model can be proposed by
analyzing the way in which the volume fraction of an
underflow backfilling material changes with the height
of the CR:
xa d e c
b
=+
−() "
 (5)
where x is the height of the CR (m), # is the tailings
volume fraction, d is the average tailings particle size
(mm) and was equal to 0.1165 mm,  is the tailings
density (g/cm
3
) and was equal to 2.897 g/cm
3
, and a, b,
and c are the fitting parameters. The values of the
volume fraction and height were then substituted into
the predictive model, and Table 6 illustrates the results
of fitting Equation (1).
W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 1, 101–107 105
Figure 8: Contours of the volume fraction of the particle phase for diameters of: a) 0.165 mm, b) 0.1195 mm, c) 0.0605 mm, and d) 0.0335 mm
Table 6: Fitting equation relating the tailings volume fraction to the
height of the CR for heights of (8.8, 9.3, 10.6, and 11.3) m
Height of the
compression region
(m)
Fitting equation R
2
8.8 xd e =− + 0 292 322
0
..
()  " $
 0.977
9.3 xd e =− + 063 395
0
..
() " 
 0.987
10.6 xd e =− + 215 499
0
..
() " 
 0.992
11.3 xd e =− + 309 579
0
..
() " 
 0.996
Figure 9: Variation of slurry concentration with height of CR

3.3 Analysis of L-pipe tests
L-pipe tests were conducted with TS volume concen-
trations of 0.5271, 0.5271, 0.5421 and 0.5703. The tests
for volume concentrations of 0.5271 and 0.5271 could be
completed smoothly, but the pipe was prone to blocking
at concentrations of 0.5582 and 0.5703. The blockages
were due to the excessive amounts of backfilling mate-
rial in the slurry solution. The particles settled faster than
the water flowed, so it was not the conditions of the pipe-
line transport. Hence, the industrial tests of TS discharge
were conducted for TS volume concentrations of 0.5271
and 0.5421 only.
3.4 Industrial tests
Industrial tests were conducted in August 2016 using
the 9-m tailings silo of the first filling station in the
aforementioned Dahongshan copper mine. The feeding
flow ability was controlled at 300 m
3
/h, and the volume
concentration was maintained at approximately 13 %.
The height of the CR was measured with a measuring
tape. The gate at the bottom of the tailings silo was
opened, and the TS was discharged for CR heights of
W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
106 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 53 (2019) 1, 101–107
Figure 10: Photograph of an industrial test
Table 8: Industrial test of continuous underflow for a CR height of
9.3 m
Time
Feeding
slurry
weight
(g)
Feeding
slurry
volume
concen-
tration
Underflow
slurry
weight
(g)
Underflow
slurry
volume
concen-
tration
Compres-
sion
region
height
(m)
8:30 963 0.133 1358 0.508 9.3
8:40 966 0.136 1398 0.546 9.3
8:50 968 0.138 1401 0.549 9.2
9:00 953 0.123 1395 0.543 9.2
9:10 955 0.125 1393 0.541 9.2
9:20 971 0.141 1384 0.533 9.2
9:30 967 0.137 1381 0.530 9.2
9:40 962 0.132 1390 0.539 9.2
9:50 966 0.136 1397 0.545 9.2
10:00 958 0.128 1395 0.543 9.2
10:10 952 0.123 1391 0.539 9.2
10:20 956 0.126 1383 0.532 9.2
10:30 951 0.122 1388 0.537 9.2
10:40 958 0.128 1395 0.543 9.2
10:50 957 0.127 1398 0.546 9.2
11:00 963 0.133 1393 0.541 9.2
11:10 967 0.137 1387 0.536 9.2
11:20 969 0.139 1384 0.533 9.2
11:30 959 0.129 1391 0.539 9.2
11:40 952 0.123 1395 0.543 9.2
11:50 962 0.132 1392 0.540 9.2
12:00 968 0.138 1397 0.545 9.2
12:10 965 0.135 1390 0.539 9.2
12:20 963 0.133 1386 0.535 9.2
12:30 967 0.137 1384 0.533 9.2
Average 961.52 0.132 1389.84 0.538
On August 12, 2016 in #9 m-4# tailings silo
Table 7: Industrial test of continuous underflow for a CR height of 8.8
m
Time
Feeding
slurry
weight
(g)
Feeding
slurry
volume
concen-
tration
Underflow
slurry
weight
(g)
Underflow
slurry
volume
concen-
tration
compres-
sion
region
height
(m)
15:40 965 0.135 1342 0.493 8.8
15:50 959 0.129 1378 0.527 8.8
16:00 963 0.133 1392 0.540 8.8
16:10 955 0.125 1388 0.537 8.7
16:20 962 0.132 1381 0.530 8.7
16:30 966 0.136 1376 0.525 8.7
16:40 957 0.127 1368 0.518 8.7
16:50 960 0.130 1379 0.528 8.7
17:10 963 0.133 1382 0.531 8.6
17:20 966 0.136 1371 0.520 8.6
17:30 965 0.135 1366 0.516 8.6
17:40 953 0.123 1379 0.528 8.6
17:50 957 0.127 1374 0.523 8.6
18:00 959 0.129 1369 0.519 8.6
18:10 962 0.132 1377 0.526 8.6
18:20 964 0.134 1384 0.533 8.6
18:30 966 0.136 1374 0.523 8.6
18:40 964 0.134 1372 0.521 8.6
18:50 956 0.126 1369 0.519 8.6
Average 961.16 0.131 1374.789 0.524
On August 10, 2016 in #9 m-2# tailings silo

8.8 m and 9.3 m and underflow abilities of 74 m
3
/h and
72 m
3
/h, respectively. The accumulation of the tailings at
the bottom of the silo was kept appropriately loose using
high-pressure air and water at the start of TS discharge.
Figure 10 shows a photograph of one of the industrial
tests. The underflow TS and the initial feeding concen-
tration were simultaneously measured using a density
pot. Tables 7 and 8 provide detailed results.
Tables 7 and 8 indicate that the underflow volume
concentration was stable at 0.524 and 0.538. The dis-
charging ability of the underflow must be controlled to
74 m
3
/h and 72 m
3
/h when the height of the CR is 8.8
and 9.3 m, respectively. The results of the industrial tests
are highly consistent with those of the CFD simulations.
The volume concentration of the overflow at the top of
the tailings silo was also measured during the industrial
tests and was found to be less than 3 %.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions can be drawn from the
findings of the present study:
1) The volume fraction was concentrated at the
bottom of the CR, whereas the 0.165 and 0.1195 mm
tailings and the particle phases of 0.0605 and 0.0335 mm
in diameter were concentrated in the middle-to-upper
part of the CR.
2) Four underflow flow abilities (74, 72, 70, and 68)
m
3
/h were selected using CFD software when the feeding
flow ability was 300 m
3
/h. The results show that the CR
height was 8.8, 9.3, 10.6, and 11.3) m when the under-
flow volume concentration was (0.5274, 0.5421, 0.5582
and 0.5703, respectively. A predictive model was pro-
posed by analyzing the manner in which the underflow
tailings volume fraction changed with the CR height, i.e.,
xa d e c
b
=+
−() "
 .
3) The tests could be completed smoothly for TS
volume concentrations of 0.5271 and 0.5421, but the
pipe became blocked while testing at concentrations of
0.5582 and 0.5703.
4) Industrial tests demonstrated that the model
worked and the underflow volume concentration met the
requirements for mine production. Therefore, the model
could be used to avoid wasting resources and equipment
and to save water and electricity. The present research
provides a theoretical basis and technical guidance for
designing continuous TD and filling systems.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (51164016). The
authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.cn) for
the English language review.
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W. REN et al.: OPERATIONAL PROCESS SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A CONTINUOUS-DISCHARGE SYSTEM ...
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