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By Harold V. Fairbanks

This investigation included a study of three different methods for the acoustic drying of ultrafine coals. Ultrafine coal being defined as coal which passes through a 100 mesh sieve. The first method employed stationary drying of small coal samples in sound fields having frequencies of 12,000 cps and 20,000 cps. Sound intensities up to 150 db were used. The second method employed the use of rotary drying kilns. The effect of such variables as temperature, sound intensity, coal feed rate, air flow rate, and initial moisture content were studied. The third method employed the use of a multi-tiered, vibrating screen dryer. The effect of initial moisture content and residence time were studied.

Jan 1, 1970

By J. D. Zhou, F. Yang, X. G. Bi

"In this investigation, the phosphorus distribution ratios in the CaF2 system and B2O3 system dephosphorization slags for high-phosphorus hot metal pretreatment were measured by an indirect method under laboratory conditions. Firstly, the phosphorus distribution ratio between liquid slag and solid iron was measured, and then the phosphorus distribution ratio between liquid slag and hot metal was calculated. Phosphorus capacity was calculated in terms of the composition and optical basicity of the slag. Dephosphorization slag was also studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The experimental results show that the phosphorus capacity of the B2O3 slag system is much greater than that of the CaF2 system. It is demonstrated thatB2O3 can completely replace CaF2 as fluxing agent for high-phosphorus hot metal pretreatment. With CaF2 as fluxing agent, the phosphorus capacity increases with increasing CaO content in the slag, but the phosphorus distribution ratio decreases. B2O3, when used as fluxing agent, can react with high melting point phases such as 2CaO·SiO2 and 3CaO·P2O5 in the slag to form new phases with low melting points such as 11CaO·B2O3.4SiO2, 2CaO·B2O3.SiO2, and Ca9.93(P5.84B0.16O24) (B0.67O1.79), thereby acting as a fluxing agent. When the ratio of w(B2O3)/w(CaO) is 0.16, the phosphorus distribution ratio reaches its maximum value, that is, the dephosphorization ability of the slag is at its maximum. IntroductionAs international iron ore prices continue to rise, the development of China's steel industry is facing a lot of pressure. Against this background, development and utilization of domestic high-phosphorus iron ore resources is particularly important. When highphosphorus iron ore is used in ironmaking, the phosphorus content in the hot metal can reach 0.35% or more, and the hot metal must be pretreated. For hot metal with 0.08–0.10% dissolved phosphorus, the traditional hot metal dephosphorization pretreatment technologies are relatively mature. However, when using these methods to dephosphorize hot metal containing 0.35% P or more, the amount of dephosphorization slag can reach 100–150 kg per ton of hot metal. Furthermore, the traditional dephosphorization methods require the addition of large amounts of CaF2 as fluxing agent, and this results in high fluoride levels in the dephosphorization slag. The fluorine in the slag can partially dissolve in water and thereby causes high fluoride concentration in the water and soil. Once the fluoride is absorbed by humans or animals, it can result in toxic effects on the central nervous system and myocardium. In addition, fluoride can accumulate in the environment, and thereby pose a health risk to animals and humans through the food chain (Li, 2007; Liu, Wang, and Dong, 2011, Diao, 2013). The objective of this research is to replace CaF2 with B2O3 as fluxing agent while achieving the expected goals of hot metal pretreatment."

Jan 1, 2016

By S. Alpay

Underground mining method selection (UMMS) is one of the most important decisions that mining engineers have to make. Choosing a suitable underground mining method to extract a mineral deposit is very important in terms of economics, safety and productivity of mining operations. In real life, UMMS is one of the Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) problems and decision makers have always some difficulties in making the right decision in the multiple criteria environment. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy MADM (FMADM) are the MADM tools and can be used for the selection of the best underground mining method by considering the problem criteria. UMMSMADM is a computer program which is based on AHP and FMADM and it can analyze the UMMS problems and produce the best underground mining method considering different deposit shapes and ore bodies.

Jan 1, 2010

By R. V. Kumar

"The use of sensors to monitor gaseous species in industrial processes is discussed. All of the existing systems have disadvantages. Sensors, based upon solid electrolytes, which can be placed directly into the gas stream are attractive but many also respond to oxygen, need to be sealed at high temperatures and require a separate reference. This paper describes sensors, usually based upon two electrolytes, which do not respond to oxygen and do not require high temperature gas seals or separate references. The application of these sensors to the measurement of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and trioxide and hydrogen chloride is described. These sensors can be placed directly into the gas stream at elevated temperatures.IntroductionOn-line gas sensing is becoming more important as concerns regarding the environment mount. There are many established techniques for monitoring gases in industrial processes, with applications in safety monitoring, chemical analysis or process and emission control. Flue gas analysis involves the greatest technical complexity, requiring several sophisticated capital-intensive spectroscopic instruments for different species as well as needing highly skilled operators. There are also several instruments, based upon aqueous electrochemistry, which are available for the analysis of the gases S03, S02, N02 but these require that the gases are sampled at high temperature and cooled, prior to analysis. These instruments cannot be considered as giving on-line measurements of the gas composition. Furthermore, the power requirement of these instruments frequently precludes battery operation for field and domestic use."

Jan 1, 1997

By Y. De Gao, C. Gang Zhong, X. Yang Qiu, Li Wan

The chelating reagents are used as effective collectors in wolframite flotation, and certain metal cations need to be added using chelating collectors so as to activate valuable minerals and obtain good flotation indexes. Different metal cations will result in different reactivity with collectors, in order to select the effective activator in BHA flotation of wolframite, the activation effectiveness of different metal cations on wolframite ((Fe,Mn)WO4) flotation were studied using pure minerals. The results showed that the wolframite activation by Pb2+was the best among the selected cations. The maximum flotation recovery of wolframite was found to be 95.58 % under conditions of 100mg/LBHA and 1×10-4mol/L of Pb2+at pH 9. The dosage of Pb2+needs to be controlled in an optimum range. Also, the activation mechanism of Pb2+ on BHA flotation of wolframite was investigated by measurements of contact angle, zeta potential, adsorption capacity and IR spectroscopy. It was found that Pb2+ could chemically adsorb onto the wolframite surface improving the flotability of wolframite and enhancing the adsorption of BHA on wolframite. When the dosages of BHA and Pb2+ were 100 mg/L and 1×10-4 mol/L, the adsorption quantity of BHA on wolframite sharply increased up to 0.30 mg/L at pH 9 compared with wolframite treated with only BHA.

Jan 1, 2014

By W. D. Cho

The slag chemistry in steel processing plays an important role in terms of the removal of impurities including alumina particles. In the present study, the dissolution of solid alumina particles in CaO-based fluxes at the temperatures between 1450 and 1550 °C has been investigated to determine dissolution kinetics and mechanism. Alumina particles were added directly in the slags and the size of alumina particles was measured as a function of time using optical and scaru;ling electron microscopes. The dissolution rate has also been obtained as a function of Si02, CaF2, MgO and MnO contents in the slags. The diffusion boundary layer between alumina and bulk slag phase has been observed and analyzed using SEM and EDX. In addition, some experiments have been performed for the dissolution of alumina in BaO-based fluxes.

Jan 1, 2003

By James K. Gowans

The Red Dog Operation is located in northwestern Alaska at Latitude 68°, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 50 miles inland from the Chukchi Sea. The orebody was acquired by the NANA Regional Corporation, (an Alaska Native Corporation established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971), in 1980 in their land selection. In 1982 Cominco American and the NANA Corporation signed a development agreement and Cominco Alaska Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cominco American, was formed to manage the Red Dog Project. An extensive exploration program in 1980 -1982 outlined a mineral inventory of 85 million tons, at a grade of 5.2% Pb, 17.1 % Zn, and 2.4 oz/ton Ag, which makes the Red Dog the second largest deposit ever discovered. Broken Hill, in Australia, is the only zinc orebody which was originally larger than Red Dog. The design of the facilities is to process 2.1 million tons of ore annually, which will produce 560,000 tons of zinc concentrate, 100,000 tons of lead concentrate and 50,000 tons of bulk lead/zinc concentrate.

Jan 1, 1991

By Lilong Huang, Xiang Zhao, Yuan Long, Li Shi, Guowang Zhang, Xiao Xiao

"Vertical stirred mill is expected to upgrade the iron concentrate by further size reduced efficiently. The tests for fine grinding of iron ores from Baiyun Boyu iron ore, Baogang Goup, iron contained tails of Cu-Pb-Zn ore in Wanguo ore, Xiaoshalong iron ore in Qinghai were conducted in this paper. The data of appropriate grinding fineness, optimum grinding conditions and energy consumptions obtained from the test were used to select appropriate scale of the vertical stirred mill, optimize the parameters of the grinding process and upgrade the iron concentrate of the iron ore dressing plant or design the new ore dressing plant. Based on the laboratory tests, industrial system of regrinding and magnetic separation with vertical stirred mill as the regrinding mill in micro-fine grained iron concentrate upgrading has worked out very well. The grade of Fe in iron concentrates has increased to about 65.0% (by 4.0~6.5 point percent) when the iron concentrates were reground to designed fineness and the specific energy is 5.0~7.1kWh/t. The system of regrinding and magnetic separation is proven to be eco-efficient in iron concentrate upgrading."

Jan 1, 2014

By Robert D. McKellar, Luke Frawley, Okrasa. Richard

"The resource industries in Canada are facing increasing global competition and stringent environmental regulations. This has made it essential for companies to lower operating costs wherever possible. Electrical energy rep-resents one variable cost that may be better managed and utilized, providing the user with lower operating costs, improved productivity and better yields.The utility industry is also facing changes in the way it must do business. Utilities in North America are facing the prospect of deregulation that will eliminate the monopoly they have traditionally held. This will force them to strive for lower operating costs, to maintain a competitive position and to improve customer ser-vice so as to maintain their customer base.Ontario Hydro has been working with industry for several years. Many opportunities for cost savings have been identified involving energy efficiency, process improvements and the use of new electro technologies. One useful service that the utility can offer industry is to increase the awareness of potential opportunities suited to their operations. This paper will provide an overview of some of the projects that have been implemented and those that are presently being evaluated. An electronic data-base of electro technology applications that is under development will also be described."

Jan 1, 1996

By A. E. Aho

"The Pacific Nickel property lies 7 miles northwest of Hope and 100 miles east of Vancouver, in the Coast Mountains of southwestern British Columbia. Nickel-copper sulphides were discovered in ultrabasic rocks on this property in 1923 and the deposits were explored by Pacific Nickel Mines until 1937, then again between 1951 and 1954 by Pacific Nickel Mines and by Newmont Mining Corporation through its subsidiary,Canadian Ore DepositsWestern Nickel. The property was studied by C. E. Cairnes (1) in 1924, by W. E. Cockfield and J. F. Walker (2) in 1933, by H. C. Horwood (3), (4) in 1936 and 1937, and by the writer in 1951 and 1952. Except for a few thousand tons for trial shipments, the property has never been mined. Indicated ore reserves now total somewhat over one million tons averaging about 1.4 per cent nickel and 0.5 per cent copper, with lesser values in precious metals and cobalt.GEOLOGIC SETTINGThe nickeliferous ultrabasic rocks form part of the core of a 15-milewide block of Late Palæozoic metamorphic rocks and Mesozoic intrusives which extend north-south between the coast batholith of British Columbia and the Chelan batholith of Washington. Margins of this block are faulted in part against less metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks largely of Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous age (Geo/. Surv., Canada, Map 737 A, 1942). Serpentinites, suggestive of deep transgressive structure, occur within the block, and also at its east margin along faults which are southern extensions of the regional Yalakom-Fraser River fault zone. Some of the other mineral deposits in the Hope area appear to be spatially related to these major faults.The mineralization at Pacific Nickel occurs almost exclusively within a stock-like mass of ultra basic rocks which mingle with, and partly cut, a larger batholithic mass of genetically related diorites and norites of late Mesozoic age (Figure 1 ). The ultra basic mass consists essentially of fresh, medium-grained hornblendic pyroxenite with peridotitic cores and with a remarkable margin of pegmatitic hornblendite. The most hornblendic rocks appear to be chiefly products of reaction and replacement of the pyroxene and olivine rocks. The mineralization consists of disseminated and massive pyrrhotite, with subordinate pentlandite and chalcopyrite, amongst fresh olivine, bronzite, and, Jess commonly, augite and hornblende. Both the ultrabasics and mineralization are cut by small hornblenditic and dioritic dykes, and by veins and alteration zones."

Jan 1, 1949

By J. D. Vincent

The Henderson mine site is located at Red Mountain on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, approximately 50 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The mill site is on the west slope of the Rockies and mine and mill will be connected by an underground railroad. All designs were for a 30,000 ton per day molybdenite processing plant with provisions for future expansion up to 50,000 ton per day if required. This plan did not just happen, but slowly evolved over the course of about three and one-half years. Many plants cannot afford such a delay, but the Henderson project will take about 10 years from the time it was first discovered until production starts, and these 3 !1 years were well spent in determining the best possible plant site and flowsheet. This paper describes some of the problems and the decisions made in arriving at the final location and flowsheet. The paper does not go into the specific details of how protection of the environment went hand-in-hand with all other project considerations. This particular aspect of the planning has been well-reported on other occasions and considerable information on it is readily available.

Jan 1, 1972

By A. V. Bogdanovich, S. A. Urnysheva

"Gravity and X-ray luminescent separation methods are generally used in processing of diamond ores. X-ray luminescent separators are applied for separation of diamonds from feed ore size fractions from 100 to 10-15 mm size and for final treatment of gravity concentrates over 1 mm size. Gravity separation machines used for diamond ores separation are heavy medium cyclones and pneumatic jigs. One of the most important parameters, to a large extent affecting diamonds recovery from ore, as well as processing costs and specific energy costs, is size of dumped final tailings. That was exactly the purpose of the studies, the results of which are described in this paper. The studies performed on different ores showed that in order to achieve high recovery results, it is necessary to dump heavy medium separation tailings below 3 mm size. Separation of final tailings of -6+1 mm size by jigging is also possible. However, with a view to exclude extra diamond losses, it is necessary to maintain jigging concentrate yield approximately at 25% from starting feed, with its subsequent cleaning in heavy medium cyclones. In addition to that, it is necessary to separate 20-25% of middling with diamonds content at feed ore level and subject it to grinding. This will complicate flow sheet, but reduce load on heavy medium cyclones. In order to develop optimal flow sheet for gravity concentration of a specific diamond ore, large-scale investigations are required, including technical-and-economic assessment of separation alternatives. INTRODUCTION In processing of diamond ores, gravity and X-ray luminescent separation methods are generally used. It is common practice to apply X-ray luminescent separators for separation of diamonds from feed ore size fractions from 50 (100) to 20 (10) mm size and for final treatment of gravity concentrates over 1 mm size. With that, X-ray luminescent separation tailings larger than 3-6 mm size are reground and delivered to gravity concentration processing stage. Middling products circulation volumes are large, not infrequently necessitating decrease in concentrating plants capacity, especially with mining in deep workings of deposits, where ore strength is higher (Goryachev, 2010; Vaginov, 2000; William, 1988). Diamond ores preparation before processing is accomplished by means of roll-screw crushers and autogenous grinding mills, minimizing probability of free diamonds damage in liberation from barren rock. In re-crushing of size fractions that are “difficult” in autogenous grinding, high pressure grinding rollers are applied (Burchardt, 2014; Fedotov, 2011a, 2006b)."

Jan 1, 2018

By A Audétat, W T. Li

"An EXTENDED ABSTRACT is available for download. A full-length paper was not prepared for this presentation. The Middle and Lower Yangtze River metallogenic belt is one of the most important polymetallic resource areas in China. Iron oxide-apatite deposits, mainly distributed in Ningwu and Luzong volcanic basins, are a distinct type of iron deposits in this region. These deposits have a close temporal and spatial relationship with Mesozoic dioritic porphyries and are characterised by magnetite-apatite-pyroxene/actinolite ± anhydrite assemblage and large-scale sodic-calcic alteration.Widespread multiphase inclusions in pre- to main-mineralisation stage pyroxene and garnet in Meishan (in the Ningwu basin), Luohe and Nihe (both in the Luzong basin) iron deposits were trapped at ~780°C in extremely saline brines (~90 wt per cent NaCl equivalent), consisting of Na (13–24 wt per cent), K (7–11 wt per cent), Ca (~7 wt per cent), Fe (~2 wt per cent), Cl (19–47 wt per cent) and SO4 (3–39 wt per cent), based on petrologic, microthermometric, Raman spectroscopic studies and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of natural fluid inclusions and synthetic analogues. The high Cl/Br, Na/B and S/B ratios in brine inclusions and the heavy sulfur isotopic values of anhydrite and pyrite (d34SAnh = +15.2 to +16.9‰, d34SPy = +4.6 to +12.1‰) suggest a significant contribution from both halite- and anhydrite-bearing sedimentary rocks. The involvement of evaporites caused the production of large amounts of high-salinity brines with apparently enhanced capacity to extract iron from the dioritic intrusions.According to their geologic features and the above characteristics, these iron oxide-apatite deposits are considered to be a special type of iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits characterised by high contents of Na, Ca, Cl and SO4 in the ore-forming fluids. Moreover, we believe that evaporite-bearing sedimentary basins are more prospective than evaporite-free ones for these kinds of deposits.CITATION:Li, W T, Audétat, A and Zhang, J, 2015. The connection between evaporites and iron oxide-apatite deposits, Yangtze River, China – laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of Na, S, Cl and Br in fluid inclusions, in Proceedings PACRIM 2015 Congress, pp 623–630 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)."

Mar 18, 2015

By M. D. Kaizer

PETROBRAS started its Oil Shale process development in 1953, the PETROSIX process which was developed and tailored to Irati Oil Shale formation. Since 1991, the industrial plant called MI (Industrial Module) has been operating, producing more than 20 million barrels of oil. In order to continue the oil shale exploration, a new shale mine is been opening. This article reports the planed measures taking in order to limit the environmental impacts and to return the land as close as possible to the original condition, as well as with the disposition of the process waste and the city garbage. It shows that the remediation process starts during the mining activities and continues after the mine exploration. Another characteristic of the Petrosix process, the pyrolysis of tires will be focused.

Jan 1, 2014

By Ruiyang Zhang, Ping Fang, Dezhou Wei, Shuling Gao

A CFD based numerical simulation of flow characteristics of hydrocyclone was conducted with different structural and operational parameters to investigate its distribution characteristics and influencing mechanism. The results show there exist several unsymmetrical envelopes of equal vertical velocities among both upward inner flows and downward outer flows in the hydrocyclone, and cone angle and apex diameter have remarkable influence on the vertical location of the cone bottom of the envelop of zero vertical velocity. It is also found that some tangential velocity isolines exist in the horizontal planes located in the effective separation region of hydrocyclone, and feed pressure has almost no effect on the distribution characteristics of both vertical velocity and tangential velocity of flow in hydrocyclone, however the magnitude and gradient of tangential velocity are made increased obviously, so as to make the high density particles motion velocity to the wall increased and to make the cyclonic separation effect improved. The simulation results also show when the apex diameter increased, the pressure of the fluid field decreased, however the pressure grads in the apex district increased, and the degree of changing is different as the cone angle, which showed some interactive influence of cone angle and apex diameter on the fluid field of hydrocyclone. While the feed pressure also has almost no effect on the pressure distribution characteristics, however the its magnitude and gradient are made increased accordingly, which can improve the separation accuracy according to particle density.

Jan 1, 2014

By Paul H. Johnson

A field investigation was undertaken to study some of the. chemical and hydrological aspects of leaching an impermeable copper sulfide waste dump. Samples, obtained by means of a Becker pneumatic drill from Kennecott's Chino "J" dump, near Silver City, New Mexico, were analyzed for their moisture and soluble-salt content, Fe +2 , Fe +3, Cu +2 , and H in their interstitial solutions and non-water - soluble Fe, Cu, and S in their rinsed residues. Conclusions were drawn from these data concerning the overall chemistry of impermeable-dump leaching and the hydrological characteristics of the dump.

Jan 1, 1970

By Andres Vikdahl

The Rönnsktär smelter has recently undergone a series of technical and operational changes. This changes are caused by our own will to remain and gain in competivety and to adapt to the ever changing surroundings. To be able to remain competitive in surrounding with high wage costs, high inflation and high environmental standards thorough cost management is needed. The Swedish economic policy in the beginning of the 80'ies consisted amongst other things of two devaluations. The exchange rate of the Swedish Krona was reduced with approximatively 25 %. This boosted the profits of our export industry, some even believed we entered the land of milk and honey ... And working in this promised land where everything turns into profit it is very difficult to be careful and restrictive with your spendings. Apart from some healthy and fruitful investments we allowed ourselves yearly steady increases in salary for ever reduced number of worked hours and we of course employed more people. Inflation rates went up and so did property prices. In 1986 finally reality catched up on us. Reality in the form of too high costs started to hit Swedish export industry 5-6 years after the big devaluations. Furthermore the high inflation rate also hit the domestic industry a couple of years later. Together with other important factors Sweden faced a severe home-made recession in the beginning of the 90'ies. With this background we now report and analyse our smelter's performance and operating results, shown in fig 1 The main constrictions on smelting and refining at Rönnsktär are today: * Income restrictions by governmental production level Limit * Throughput resmctions by governmental emission limit * High capital costs in the aftermath of Swedish high inflation in the recent decade * Low work force turnover Below we will illustrate how we tackled with these issues along the following lines: * People * Quality * Technology

Jan 1, 1993

By L. A. Nemchinova, M. A. Arustamian

"For a long time tailings piles of mining and smelting complexes have met the eye being a prospecting feedstock source for many industries. Nowadays, 6.5 million tons of copper and cooper-zinc processing tailings are stockpiled in the Urals annually, as there is no technology of its processing to provide a full and complex metal extraction within mining and processing operations. In spite of large volumes of mining wastes, not more than 20% of annual overburden, approx. 10% of processing wastes, approx. 40% slags (1) are involved into processing.Based on today’s complex of economic, environmental and social challenges of ore processing, waste processing technology using existing capacities is a burning issue. Mining wastes characteristics (including fine dissemination, variability of physical and chemical properties of mineral surfaces under impact of oxidizing, leaching, etc.) predetermine challenges arising out of its involving into processing and justify high capital intensity of new construction or reconstruction projects followed by replacement of existing processing lines with new ones.In this paper, the authors propose flotation technology for mature tailings of copper, copper-zinc and polymetallic ore processing. The technology developed provides for upgrade of existing process flowsheet diagrams at minimum costs to produce additional saleable products including low-grade copper concentrate, saleable zinc concentrate and gold concentrate thus facilitates sustainable use of depleting minerals and operational efficiency due to cost-efficient processing of already mined materials, being in fact, final semi-products located near existing operations. This is particularly important for operations with standby capacities and not engaged workforce."

Jan 1, 2018

By A. C. Johnson

This report is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on exploration, development, mining methods, and costs at various mines in the United States. It describes operations at the Black Rock mine, Wah Chang Mining Corp., Mono County, Calif. The purpose of these reports is to promote development and conservation of our mineral resources by disseminating technologic information on mining methods, practices, and costs. The Black Rock tungsten mine of the Wah Chang Mining Corp. is 33 miles north of Bishop, Calif., in the Benton Range, Mono County, Calif. The property was acquired in August 1950 and a well-planned program of exploration, development, and exploitation resulted in a good production record with low costs. Operations were halted in July 1957, about 6 months after suspension of the tungsten purchase program by the Federal Government.

Jan 1, 1960

By J. R. Bhamidipati, Nagy EI-Kaddah

"Over the years, mathematical modeling has been established as a viable tool for design and analysis of melting and solidification processes. Modeling of electromagnetic casting and melting systems involves three coupled problems -- determination of the containment field, the shape of the meniscus, and the temperature field -- which have to be solved simultaneously. One of the difficulties in numerical simulation of these systems is in defining and gridding the solution domain as the meniscus shape of the liquid region is not known a priori. This paper describes a methodology for solving these coupled problems in a two-dimensional electromagnetic containment field. This method is based on the solution of the electromagnetic, free surface dynamic, and heat transfer equations in a fixed domain in computational space by mapping the physical space into an invariant computational space during the search for the equilibrium shape using a variable non-orthogonal coordinate transformation. This approach, also, eliminates the need for regridding the liquid and solid regions during phase change. This methodology is demonstrated for two electromagnetic confinement systems -- the Magnetic Suspension Melting process and the electromagnetic casting of aluminum. The model predictions are in good agreement with available data for these systems. It is suggested that the methodology presented here is likely to provide a useful tool in the design, analysis, and optimization of electromagnetic confinement systems. IntroductionDuring the past decade, mathematical modeling has emerged as a viable tool for the design, analysis, and optimization of casting and melting processes /1-2/. It is generally recognized that the usefulness of modeling to study the interplay between the various process parameters without resorting to extensive experimentation relies heavily on accurate representation of the physical phenomena in these systems. In modeling electromagnetic confinement casting and melting systems, it is important that the model address all aspects of electromagnetic field interaction with the metal, if accurate predictions are to be obtained /3/. The electromagnetic field affects the heat transfer phenomena primarily through joule heating. In addition, the electromagnetic forces play a key role in heat redistribution in the molten pool via melt stirring, and, in confinement systems, support the molten metal pool."

Jan 1, 1994