شبيه‌سازي عددي نرخ انتشاروبادبردگي گردوغبارازيك تسمه نقاله

Numerical simulation of dust emission an‎d wind erosion rate from conveyor belt

مهندسي مكانيك

Dust emission an‎d wind erosion from belt conveyors constitute one of the major environmental an‎d operational challenges in bulk material han‎dling industries, particularly in mining an‎d steel production facilities. In this study, the process of dust particle uplift an‎d dispersion from the surface of a belt conveyor is numerically investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The primary approach of this research is based on Eulerian framework for analyzing the continuous concentration field of suspended dust particles. The species transport model implemented in ANSYS Fluent is employed to simulate dust behavior by introducing particles as source terms in the governing equations. Empirical relationships proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are utilized to estimate dust emission an‎d wind erosion rates. Within this framework, the effects of key parameters—including ambient wind speed, particle moisture content, belt conveyor speed, an‎d the presence of a protective wind barrier—on the wind erosion of fine an‎d coarse particles are systematically examined. Simulations are conducted within a computational domain extending up to a reference height of 10 m, while result extraction is performed at fixed locations 1.4 m above ground level to ensure consistent comparison among different scenarios. The results indicate that increasing wind speed leads to a nonlinear rise in dust erosion rates, whereas higher particle moisture content significantly suppresses particle uplift; at moisture levels exceeding 10%, wind erosion is effectively eliminated. Furthermore, increasing belt conveyor speed results in a more uniform particle distribution an‎d a reduction in dust uplift intensity, while the implementation of a wind barrier with an appropriate effective height substantially decreases airflow velocity an‎d suspended particle mass concentration. Overall, the findings demonstrate that a combination of control strategies—including moisture management, optimization of belt conveyor operating speed, an‎d the use of protective barriers—can serve as an effective approach to mitigating dust wind erosion in bulk material han‎dling systems. The outcomes of this study provide a scientific basis for the design an‎d optimization of dust control measures in industrial conveyor applications

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