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I have been asked to model a Calcium Sulfate dihydrate stockpile (A cone shape with an angle of repose), that is washed with water to remove impurities of MgCl2 and KCl. My job is to determine how much water should be used when given a stockpile's size, to maximize the removal of impurities but minimize the amount of water used. The water added to the stockpile will be slightly off-center (See https://i.stack.imgur.com/5iu3K.jpg), so not all of the stockpile will be washed!

  1. My first idea is that the important variables are: using the location of where the water is mixing with the stockpile (variable a), how far water penetrates into the rubble to determine the shape of the function (variable '?'). I'm guessing variable '?' will depend on how much water is used. (More water, more penetration.)

From 1. I'm hoping to be able to work out how much of the stockpile is and isn't interacting with the water (aka being washed for impurities) using 'a' and '?'.

I'm not too sure how to do "1." mathematically, Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks.

James
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  • Does the size of the particles being washed come into play also? I would think water would flow much quicker thru large chunks and perhaps not clean as well thru smaller, tighter packed chunks. Could you run the water thru a couple of times, and test how unclean it was becoming? – CrossRoads Nov 07 '19 at 14:07
  • Particle size would affect how much penetration will occur, currently I don't know what the particle size of the stockpile is. However assume that the particle size is uniform for the whole cone. Also assume that the water running off the surface and penetrating further down the surface of the cone doesn't change the shape of the stockpile. – James Nov 07 '19 at 14:13
  • "Could you run the water thru a couple of times" Assume that the water is not recycled, that it flows through just once. I don't believe there is a way to collect the water once it is at the bottom of the stockpile. – James Nov 07 '19 at 14:16
  • Bumping this tread because I need some help still – James Nov 16 '19 at 04:33

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