Wind tunnel study of iron ore dust emissions from stockpile and train wagons

Abstract

This work presents the development of a research facility to evaluate dust emissions involving wagon and stockpile models, considering operational and environmental variables. Furthermore, the influence of wagon vibration along the railway was considered to match the experimental conditions more closely to reality. The experimental apparatus consisted of a wind tunnel to simulate the wind speed, two lamps with controlled power sources to simulate insolation, a spray nozzle to simulate rain, a turntable to modify the wind direction, a dynamic weighing system, and a particle counter to record particulate emissions during the test. Performance tests of solidifying-type dust suppressants were also conducted. A suppressant application system was incorporated into the wagon and stockpile models. The tests demonstrated that the experimental apparatus could evaluate the performance of dust suppressants and could be used for approval purposes. Tests with vibration revealed interesting effects resulting from material compaction in wagons. Endurance tests demonstrated the apparatus capacity in tests of this nature. Thus, the developed experimental apparatus could be employed as an important tool to develop scientific studies on dust emissions.