CFD SIMULATIONS OF THE DRYING OF IRON ORE FINES AT DIFFERENT INITIAL MOISTURE CONTENTS

A granular Eulerian multiphase model coupled with heat and mass transfer was used to simulate the convective drying process of iron ore fines at different initial moisture contents. Empirical correlations for the mass transfer coefficient were implemented in the CFD simulations for predicting the drying rate. The CFD model was used to evaluate different solids initial moisture contents, air temperatures and air velocities. Numerical results for the solids moisture content showed good agreement with experimental data. The capability of the model to accurately capture the effects of local variables for different initial moisture contents at lab scale indicates its potential for application in industrial-scale systems, enabling the assessment of varying conditions of the solids at the inlet.