Study on segregation-impacted hindered settling of fine copper tailings using a modified Kynch's approach

This paper presents a fundamental study using a modified Kynch's approach to account for the hindered settling behavior of suspensions impacted by segregation. Conventional batch settling tests and interruptive batch settling tests with sample collection were performed to investigate the settling behavior of a fine copper tailings. The experimental data indicate that the solids concentration of the hindered settling zone of the suspension stayed uniform but decreased over time at a relatively constant rate. Based on this finding, a step function was used to approximate the change in solids content, and Kynch theory was modified accordingly to incorporate the influence of segregation into sedimentation. Richardson-Zaki correlation was adopted to estimate the flux curve of the fine copper tailings material used in this study. After substituting the flux curve function into the modified Kynch's approach, the propagation of the suspension waves in different settling zones was captured. The predicted results were compared with the experimental results, and a high agreement between them was obtained. The presented modified Kynch's approach can be used to account for the sedimentation of flocculated suspension where continuous segregation is encountered, which is excluded in the classical Kynch theory.

Automated summary

This paper presents a modified Kynch's approach to explain the hindered settling behavior of suspensions impacted by segregation. The experimental data and predicted results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.