Modeling and simulation of mechanical degradation of iron ore sinter in a complex transfer chute system using the discrete element model and a particle breakage model

Tata Steel handles yearly several million tons of sinter for ironmaking. At present, a significant amount of the sinter produced becomes fines during handling and needs to be recycled. These fines are generated mainly during handling of sinter from the plant to the blast furnace, in particular inside transfer chutes. Repeated impact loading of particles against each other and against wall surfaces lead to their surface and body breakage and, thus, fines generation. The present work describes the calibration of a detailed breakage model of a sinter product, followed by model validation through simulation using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) in a simple laboratory handling system, besides a 14 m high, complex industrial-scale chute system. The full-scale validation consisted of comparing the final size distri-bution of material at the discharge belt of the transfer chute from the simulation using a commercial software (Altair EDEM) to results from an industrial survey, demonstrating reasonable agreement. In-depth analysis of the simulations made it possible to locate the problematic areas for the existing chute design, demonstrating the value of DEM not only to predict flow in chute systems, but also breakage and fines generation during sinter handling.