Dynamic Simulation Of A Gravity Separation Vessel

The dynamic simulation of a gravity separation vessel (a high throughput classifier) has been developed. The feed slurry was assumed to contain light (oil droplets) and heavy (mineral solids) particulates of various size. The feed slurry was characterized by the particle size distribution of both the light and the heavy particles. The equations describing the slip velocity for each specie and those defining the time variation of each specie concentration were solved implicitly using Runge-Kutta algorithm. The dynamic simulation was capable of predicting the movement of the froth layer and the density variation of the under- flow. Field data are in agreement with the simulation model and it is shown how this model could be used to develop a control strategy.