International Journal of Mineral Processing, 15 (1985) 173--181 173

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

PRI NCI PLES OF SPI RAL CONCENTRATI ON
R. SIVAMOHAN and E. FORSSBERG
Division of Mineral Processing, Technical University of Lule~, Lule~t S-95187, Sweden
(Received and accepted September 28, 1984)
ABSTRACT
Sivamohan, R. and Forssberg, E., 1985. Principles of spiral concentration. Int. J. Miner.
Process., 15: 173--181.
The different stages of the mechanism of concent rat i on in spiral concentrators are dis-
cussed. The significance of many design and operational variables and their interrelation-
ships are examined. The various areas where the spiral concentrators are applicable are
presented.
MECHANISMS OF CONCENTRATION IN A SPIRAL CONCENTRATOR
The spiral concent r at or essent i al l y consi st s of an obl i que helical condui t
of a number of t urns.
As in any fl owi ng fi l m concent r at i on pr ocess, vert i cal st r at i f i cat i on of t he
f l owi ng film down t he spiral condui t can be rel at ed t o t he f ol l owi ng def i ned
sort i ng processes - - t he hi nder ed set t l i ng, t he i nt erst i t i al t ri ckl i ng, t he at t ai n-
me nt of mi ni mum pot ent i al ener gy and t he Bagnol d forces. The hi nder ed
set t l i ng condi t i ons i nt ensi f y t he speci fi c gravi t y ef f ect in settling. While t he
di l at i on of t he bed due t o t he f or war d and si dewar d t ravel s of t he bed of
part i cl es f avour s t he s ys t em' s struggle t o at t ai n a mi ni mal pot ent i al ener gy
by forci ng t he heavies downwa r d, pr ovi ded t he part i cl e size di st r i but i on and
also t he shape of t he heavy mi neral part i cl es are f avour abl e, small part i cl es in
t he syst em t end t o t r i ckl e t hr ough t he available i nt erst i ces. The Bagnol d
di spersi ve f or ce pr ef er ent i al l y lifts t he coarse, light part i cl es i nt o t he high-
vel oci t y l ayers of t he fl owi ng pul p whi ch i ncreases f r om zero at sol i d--l i qui d
sur f ace t o maxi mum j us t at t he free surface, pr ovi ded appr eci abl e t ur bul ence
is not cr eat ed in t he pul p whi ch is achi eved b y keepi ng t he pul p t o t he spiral
concent r at or dense and st eady.
The under st andi ng of t he lifting powe r of t he Bagnol d di spersi ve f or ce
may be obt ai ned f r om a f act or N, pr opos ed b y Bagnol d ( 1954) :
~ , I / 2 0 D 2 du
N- - - f or ~ < 14
dy
0301-7516/ 85/ $03. 30 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
174
wher e:
is t he vi scosi t y of t he liquid
d u / d y is t he rat e o f shear
a is t he par t i cl e dens i t y
D is t he part i cl e di amet er
is t he linear concent r at i on (= 1 / [ ( Cma x / C) 1j3 - 1] )
C is t he vol ume concent r at i on of solids
Dependi ng on whet her N > 450 or N < 40 "grai n-i nert i al " or "vi s cous "
condi t i ons, as def i ned by Bagnol d, exi st .
In t he "grai n-i nert i al " regi on t he Bagnol d di spersi ve pr essur e P on a part i cl e
is:
P = 0. 04 o (~D) 2 ( d u / d y ) 2
The ef f ect of t hi s di spersi ve pr essur e P is t o count er act t he appar ent
wei ght Pa of t he part i cl e:
7t Da(o -- of ) / 6 2
P a - = - - D ( o - o f )
~D2 / 4 3
Ther ef or e:
k D( d u / d y ) 2
P/ Pa - ( k is a const ant )
1 - - (Of / O)
I f tWO part i cl es of di amet er s dl and d2 (d2 > dl ) are consi der ed:
( P/ Pa) d, "( ( P/ Pa ) d 2
Ther ef or e, d2 will st ay up in t he fast -fl owi ng l ayers o f t he film. Si mi l arl y, if
t wo part i cl es o f dens i t y Oh and Ol (Oh > Ol) are consi der ed:
( P/ Pa) ah < ( P/ Pa) a 1
Ther ef or e, o 1 will st ay up in t he fast -fl owi ng l ayers of t he film. Under t he
"vi s cous " condi t i ons t he di spersi ve pressure P on a part i cl e is given as:
du
P = 2. 93 X 3/2 r / dy
Fol l owi ng t he same line of ar gument f ound above, it can be seen t hat onl y
small, light part i cl es will st ay up in t he fast -fl owi ng l ayers o f t he film in con-
t r ast t o t he Bagnol d di spersi ve f or ce' s pr ef er ent i al lift of t he coarse, light
part i cl es in t he "grai n-i nert i al " region.
But ch ( 1956) however , argued t hat it is unl i kel y t hat grain-inertial condi -
t i ons woul d exi st due t o t he shear pr oduc e d by t he f l owi ng fi l m onl y when
t r eat i ng rel at i vel y fi ne part i cl es, in t r oughs wi t h r at her fl at profi l es. A
subst ant i al pr essur e will be pr oduced if an or bi t al or a r ot at i onal mot i on is
given. Bur ch' s shaken hel i coi d empl oyed an osci l l at or y mot i on ( But ch,
1957) . Recent l y, t he Chi nese devel oped a revol vi ng spiral concent r at or
( Robi ns on, 1983) .
175
In addi t i on t 6 t he above- ment i oned def i ned sort i ng pr ocesses' ef f ect s in
vert i cal st rat i fi cat i on, t her e exi st s t he i nf l uence of rising and falling cur r ent s
near t he inner radi us and t he out er radi us r espect i vel y ( expl ai ned bel ow) ,
uni que t o t he spiral concent r at or , whi ch will move t he smaller part i cl es
pr ef er ent i al l y in cont r as t t o t he Bagnol d f or ce' s pr ef er ent i al l i ft of t he coar ser
particles.
The combi ned act i on of t he above- ment i oned sort i ng pr ocesses will cause
t he heavy part i cl es t o set t l e at t he b o t t o m wi t h t he lights above and t hus t he
part i cl es are caught in t he di f f er ent vel oci t y l ayers travelling in a curved
pat h. The y will be act ed upon by cent ri fi gual f or ces of di f f er ent magni t ude
whi ch will t end t o shi ft t he part i cl es t owar ds t he out er edge o f t he condui t .
However , part i cl es in t he l ower l ayers will not be abl e t o mi grat e t o t he out e r
edge due t o l ow cent ri fugal forces and t he radial vel oci t y of t he l ower par t
of t he st ream, whi ch are associ at ed wi t h t he i nward sl ope o f t he condui t .
The resul t is t hat t he b o t t o m l ayers will f or ce t he part i cl es ( heavy) t owar ds
t he i nner side of t he spiral concent r at or wher e openi ngs ma y ( or ma y not ) be
l ocat ed, dependi ng on t he design.
Tr adi t i onal spirals are meant t o r emove t he concent r at e at t he fi rst or sec-
ond t ur n and t o t r eat t he mi ddl i ngs s ubs equent l y in t he t ur ns bel ow, wi t h
concent r at e por t s at 180 intervals. Some of t he por t s are nor mal l y cl osed,
t o obt ai n a high rat i o of concent r at i on.
Posi t i ons of t he concent r at e por t s var y accordi ng t o t he r equi r ement s.
Cl osel y l ocat ed por t s can be mor e sel ect i ve in obt ai ni ng a concent r at e when
t reat i ng part i cl es of near speci fi c gr avi t y or part i cl es cont ai ni ng a high
pr opor t i on of high speci fi c gravi t y minerals. The moder n spiral concent r at or
devel oped f or f eeds whi ch cont ai n onl y a f ew per cent of heavy mi neral s has
no such concent r at e por t s. Wash wat er addi t i on is also not pr ef er r ed when
t r eat i ng fi ne part i cl es, part i cul arl y, t o pr event any det r i ment al devel opment s
of t ur bul ence (Wells and El l i ot , 1982) . The addi t i on of wash wat er at t he
i nner edge of t he st ream t ends t o f or ce t he fi ne part i cl es back i nt o t he
mi ddl e por t i on of t he condui t wher e i t is subj ect t o f ur t her cycl es of concen-
t r at i on. If added, care shoul d be t aken t o ensure t hat t he wash wat er f l ows
st eadi l y and is f r ee of f or ei gn mat t er .
As descr i bed above, whi l e t he part i cl es in t he l ower l ayers of t he st ream
are carri ed i nwards due t o radial i nward vel oci t y, t her e can occur an azi-
mut hal separ at i on of t he part i cl es based on t he sizes. Si nce t he coar se heavy
part i cl es in t he i nwar dl y movi ng l ayers are act ed upon b y large f or war d
vel oci t i es t he y will go a great er azi mut hal angle t han t he fi ne heavy part i cl es.
The i nward f l ow of t he b o t t o m l ayers and t he out war d f l ow o f t he upper
l ayers are connect ed b y rising cur r ent s on t he i nner radi us and falling cur r ent s
on t he out er radi us and t he resul t i ng helical bounda r y be t we e n t he upwar d
and downwa r d movi ng l ayers will be det er mi ned b y t he concent r at or design.
The rising cur r ent s are significant in t hat t he y pr ovi de a uni que phenom-
enon b y lifting t he small part i cl es upwar ds whi ch, if pr opor t i onat ed wi t h t he
Bagnol d ef f ect , means part i cl es o f di f f er ent sizes will be l i ft ed t o appr oxi -
176
mat el y t he same ext ent which would alleviate any undesirable size separa-
tion.
But ch (1961--1962} proposed mat hemat i cal relationships to quant i fy t he
several flows involved in the sorting and t he separating of particles in a pulp
t hat flows down t he condui t of a spiral concent rat or. However, t hey may
not be rigorously applicable, because t hey were based on quite a number of
assumptions.
His relationships to obt ai n an approxi mat i on of t he secondary circulation
are as follows:
radial inward velocity u at fractional height yH:
VaHH 2 y ( 7 y s - 42y 4 + 70y 3 - 72y + 32)
12 =
r7 cos ~ 210
primary velocity V at yH:
y(2 - y) H: P g
V =
4~rr 7
inflow rate per t urn at radius r, within which it must rise:
1.376 p2H:g2
1680 . Tar 2
rising velocity at r:
d
1.376 p2g2 -dr (HT/r~)
3360 ~2 7a r
height of t he slope of t he free surface Z:
3g p2A1217 r217
1472
height of t he pulp layer H:
= A3/ 7 r4/7
Here P is t he pitch, 13is the angle of inward of the deck, 7 is t he kinetic viscosi-
t y, H is the height of pulp at radius r and A is a const ant having t he dimen-
sions of length.
Additional basic work, along wi t h comput er simulations, on t he foot st eps
of Burch should provide more valuable qualitative as well as quantitative in-
format i on. This is an area which gives ample scope for a major breakt hrough
in spiral concent rat i on.
DESI GN AND OPERATI ONAL VARI ABLES AND THEI R I NTERRELATI ONSHI PS
The pitch, profile and radius are t he three design variables of a spiral con-
cent rat or and there is av~iilable a variety of models wi t h varying dimensions
enabling a correct choice from a wide spectrum for particular applications.
177
The vel oci t y of t he pul p, fed t o t he t o p of a spiral concent r at or is det er -
mi ned b y t he pi t ch of t he helix. Deep angles pr ovi de high capaci t i es and high
grades, but l ow r ecover y. They mus t per f or m well wi t h t he ores of very
l ow grades. Shal l ow angles are sui t abl e f or oper at i ons involving small speci fi c
gravi t y di f f er ences and fi ne part i cl e sizes. Wi t h t he advent of moul de d (in
one pi ece), st r et chabl e fi bre-gl ass-rei nforced spiral concent r at or s t est s be-
came possi bl e at di f f er ent pi t ches. This led t o pr esent t i me' s several pi t ch-
di mensi ons and also spirals wi t h a varyi ng pi t ch down t he axis ( Anonymous ,
1979; Bal derson, 1982) .
Anot her advant age of t he st eep pi t ch is t hat it enabl es, wi t h a r educed
hei ght of out er wall, a doubl e- wound or a t r i pl e- wound uni t on t he same
cent ral col umn t o be possi bl e whi ch saves space and cut s down on t he l aunder
r equi r ement s. A spiral having a cont i nuous l y cur ved pr of i l e wi t h a variable
radi us of cur vat ur e but wi t hout concent r at e por t s can also give a doubl e-
wound ar r angement o f t r oughs.
A pr oper l y desi gned t r ough pr of i l e pr event s t he pul p j us t runni ng on.
Profi l e pat t er ns are many. A cont i nuous l y curved profi l e as used in t he con-
vent i onal spiral concent r at or s is sui t abl e f or general appl i cat i ons as en-
count er ed in mi neral sands t r eat ment . Wi t h t he i nt ent i on o f alleviating t he
pr obl ems of adj ust i ng t he concent r at e spl i t t ers f or a vari abl e f eed, a spiral
concent r at or wi t h a f ew channel s moul ded side b y side wi t h fi xed spl i t t ers,
t o di r ect t he concent r at e f r om t he out er channel t o i nner channel s succes-
sively, was devel oped ( Anonymous , 1965}. However , it was f ound t o suffer
f r om t he pr obl em of i nner channel s becomi ng over l oaded. A modi f i ed f or m
of this is t he c o mp o u n d spiral concent r at or wi t h t he i nner sect i on having less
acut e sl ope t han t he out er sect i on wi t h t he poi nt of i nt er sect i on movi ng
radi al l y out war ds f r om t he cent r e col umn, f r om t o p t o b o t t o m o f t he t r ough
and t hi s is sui t abl e f or f eeds cont ai ni ng a ver y l ow per cent o f heavy mi neral s
si nce t he desi gn enabl es tailings and mi ddl i ngs t o be t r eat ed on separat e
t r ough slopes. A f i at - bot t omed spiral concent r at or wi t h a r educed pi t ch
shoul d be abl e t o per f or m wel l wi t h ver y fi ne part i cl es because o f t he l ow
vel oci t i es t hat woul d prevai l t her e. A cont i nuous l y curved pr of i l e wi t h a
ver y l ong but vari abl e radi us o f cur vat ur e is sui t abl e f or r educi ng ash con-
t ent s in t he washi ng of coal (Bal derson, 1982) .
Despi t e t he wor k of Sukhonova et al. ( 1972) t he radi us of t he spiral seems
qui t e ar bi t r ar y except f or t he f act t hat t he larger t he di amet er is t he fi ner t he
mat er i al it will t r eat dependi ng on t he f eed rat e, t r ough profi l e and pi t ch.
A spiral wi t h an increasing radi us downwar ds shoul d be abl e t o t r eat part i cl es
wi t h a ver y wi de size range (2 mm- - 50 #m) .
The nat ur e of t he mode of oper at i on, whet her it is roughi ng, cleaning or
scavenging, governs t he r equi r ed numbe r of t ur ns ( usual l y 3- - 10) f or whi ch a
spiral is empl oyed. The mor e di f f i cul t an oper at i on is, t he mor e t he t ur ns re-
qui r ed. But ch ( 1961- - 1962) obt ai ned t he f ol l owi ng r el at i onshi p t o cal cul at e
t he number of t ur ns essent i al f or part i cl es in t he l owest l ayers t o get f r om
t he edge t o t he concent r at e regi on, f or his shaken hel i coi d:
178
9P (r2 - rl) dr
0 -
4~rlr2 dZ
wher e 0 is t he azi mut hal angle, dZ/dr is t he deck sur f ace i nward sl ope (con-
si dered const ant ) , P is t he pi t ch and r2 and rl are t he out e r and i nner radii of
t he t r ough under consi der at i on.
Vari at i ons in pul p charact eri st i cs - - t he f eed grade, per cent solids, f l ow
rat e and part i cl e size di st r i but i on - - af f ect t he effect i veness, as in any con-
cent r at i on process, of a spiral concent r at or , l eadi ng t o losses. However , whi l e
any l i mi t ed l ong-t erm vari at i ons in t he f eed charact eri st i cs ma y be con-
t r ol l ed b y adj ust i ng t he concent r at e spl i t t ers and a mount and di r ect i on of
wash wat er , in t he case of convent i onal spiral concent r at or s , any shor t t er m
vari at i ons ( wi t hi n limits) are not t oo si gni fi cant since a spiral ci rcui t is al ways
oper at ed in mul t i -st ages wi t h mi ddl i ng r eci r cul at i on (Al exi s, 1978). An
i nt erest i ng s t udy by Dallire et al. ( 1978) t hr ows consi der abl e light on a con-
vent i onal spiral concent r at or ' s ( wi t h por t s and wash wat er ) t ol er ance t o f eed
vari at i ons.
Wi t hi n t he range of t he t est s ma xi mum r ecover y was obt ai ned at l ow f l ow
rat es and high per cent solids. With increasing pul p f eed rat es, r ecover y was
f ound t o dr op whi l e t he grade i mpr oved (Fig. 1). Hi gh cent ri fugal f or ces
associ at ed wi t h t he high pul p f eed rat e shoul d have ke pt t he mi ddl i ngs and
fi ne part i cl es away f r om t he por t s. High per cent solids in t he f l ow i mpr oved
t he grade b y i nt ensi fyi ng t he hi nder ed set t l i ng condi t i ons (Fig. 1).
An i nt er medi at e but compar at i vel y wi de size range ( < 20 mesh) was
f ound t o give good r ecover y (Fig. 2), because coarse heavy part i cl es prevent -
Rec ov er y %
92
37.8s Ipm_ . . . . . . . . . . . .
raz-_i----r=- - - - ~ 6 7a Ipm
88
75 7 0 , p r o ' ,
o 10% s o l i d s \ \ \ ~ " ' ~ l " " ' '
86
o
* ,~ 15% s o h d s ~ " ~ ' \ 90.84 Ipm
84 ~" -~ 2 0 % s o l i d s ~X~ ~\
D o \
D 25 Fo s o l i d s " ~ \
= = 3 0 % s o l i d s ~ ' ~ ~\
8 2 r r ~ , I ~ J ' ~ 1 ~ r r v I ' r ~ w I ~ ' ' ' 1 ~ I J I ' J ~ ~ I ~ ~ '
54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62
Conc g r a d e : % F e
Fi g. 1. P e r f o r ma n c e at d i f f e r e n t % s ol i ds a nd feed rates. ( Af t er Dallire et al., 1978. )
1 7 9
ed t he f i ne heavy parti cl es bei ng carried upward by t he rising current s at t he
i nner regi on o f t he spiral c onc e nt r at or . Ve r y f i ne part i cl es whi c h s houl d f i nd
it di f f i c ul t t o set t l e t hrough t he f ast f l owi ng pul p wo u l d l ead t o very l o w re-
covery. Grade was f ound t o i mprove, as wo u l d be e x pe c t e d, wi t h narrowi ng
si ze range ( Fi g. 2) .
Conc. grude
% Fe Recovery %
62 95
^
58-
56 ~ l ~
54 ~ i i i i i w i 80
10 2 3 L 5 6 7 8 9 102
Ma x feed si ze : mesh
Fi g . 2 . Gr a d e a n d r e c o v e r y v s p a r t i c l e s i z e at 7 5 . 7 l p m. ( A f t e r Da l l i r e e t al . , 1 9 7 8 . )
Conc grade
% Fe Recovery %
65 95
6 0 -
/ / /
55 soil
5 0 1 I I I ~1 ' ' ' i I ' I I I I i t , I I I I I I I I
25 30 35 40 &5 50
Feed gr ade: %F e
F i g . 3 . Gr a d e a n d r e c o v e r y v s f e e d g r a d e a t 75.7 lpm. (After Dallire et a]. , 1978.)
go
.85
i i , 8 0
55
180
Feed grade was f ound t o be an i mpor t ant f act or whi ch at t r act s at t ent i on.
Heavy l oadi ng r equi r ed a careful cont r ol o f f eed grade, f or surpl us heavy
mi neral coul d not fi nd its wa y t o por t s whi ch decr eased r ecover y (Fig. 3).
Too small a concent r at e admi t s mi ddl i ngs i nt o por t s, hence a decr ease in t he
concent r at e grade resul t s (Fig. 3).
APPLICATION
Coal
Spi ral concent r at or s have been ext ensi vel y t es t ed f or t he r educt i on of ash
and sul phur f r om t he fine coals. The best size range t o obt ai n maxi mum ash
r educt i on wi t h mi ni mum loss of coal , pr oved b y a series of t est s on coal s
wi t h di f f er ent washabi l i t y charact eri st i cs ( Geer et al., 1950) , woul d be a
classified f eed in whi ch t he cl ean coal is a bout mi nus 8- mesh and t he accom-
panyi ng i mpur i t y is a bout 28- - 100 mesh size. Ot her wi se, t he coar se heavy
part i cl es set t l ed f ar t her in t he st ream woul d not r each t he r ef use port s.
Heavy but ver y fine part i cl es woul d also r epor t t o t he cl ean coal side. The
coal part i cl es coarser t han a bout 8- mesh in size can be easi l y t r eat ed by
HMS and jigging. The mos t sensi bl e wa y o f t r eat i ng such fi ne coal s woul d be
t o pass t he desl i med coal over a spiral t o obt ai n a concent r at e and t hen t o
classify and r et r eat t he combi ned refuse-mi ddl i ng pr oduc t on anot her spiral.
Anot her wa y o f fine coal t r eat ment is r emovi ng t he ( about ) pl us 6-mesh
and mi nus 200- mesh part i cl es bef or e t r eat i ng it on a spiral c onc e nt r a t or and
t hen combi ni ng t he pl us 6-mesh pr oduc t wi t h t he spiral concent r at e. It is
possi bl e when t he ash and sul phur are concent r at ed in t he fi ner sizes and
also t he pl us 6-mesh size cont ai ns an appr eci abl e qua nt i t y o f cl ean coal. In
such an at t empt on a washer wast e 94% of t he coal was r ecover ed wi t h an
ash r educt i on t o 5% f r om 24% ( Br owni ng, 1977) . The r ecent l y devel oped
port l ess, washwat er l ess Mark IX and Mark X spiral concent r at or s are cl ai med
t o per f or m wel l wi t h coal s of 6 200- mesh sizes at high capaci t i es (Balder-
son, 1982; Mineral deposi t s, 1983) .
The spiral concent r at or s are consi der ed f or r ecl amat i on o f pyr i t i c sul phur
also, t o el i mi nat e st ream pol l ut i on by aci d wat er drai nage and ot her envi ron-
ment al hazards (Browni ng, 1982) .
Heavy minerals and sands
Spi ral concent r at or s have been ext ensi vel y used in t he beach deposi t s such
as t hos e cont ai ni ng i l meni t e, f ut i l e, zi rcon and monazi t e wher e t he y have t he
rol e of pr oduci ng a pr econcent r at e as wel l as a final sal eabl e pr oduct . The
l ow f l oor area r equi r ement of t he spiral concent r at or s make t hem a ver y
good pr econcent r at or in of f s hor e t r eat ment . Ot her areas o f appl i cat i on are
bar yt es, chr omi t e ores, i ron or e fines, kyani t e, Pb/ Zn oxi de and sul phi de
ores, t a nt a l um/ ni obi um ores, t i n ores, t ungs t en or e and gol d. Appl i cat i ons of
181
t h e s p i r a l c o n c e n t r a t o r s i n c l u d i n g t h e mo d e r n s p i r a l c o n c e n t r a t o r s t o h e a v y
mi n e r a l s a n d s a n d s a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y d o c u me n t e d i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e ( Hu mp h r e y s
a n d Hu b a r d , 1 9 4 5 ; C a r p e n t e r , 1 9 5 3 ; R o b i n s o n , 1 9 7 3 ; An o n y mo u s , 1 9 8 1 ;
B a l d e r s o n , 1 9 8 2 ; We l l s a n d E l l i o t , 1 9 8 2 ; R o b i n s o n a n d F e r r e e , 1 9 8 3 ; S p i l l e r ,
1 9 8 3 ) .
REFERENCES
Al exi s, J. , 1978. Spi r al Concent r at i on. Gr avi t y Separ at i on Technol ogy, Shor t Course,
Uni ver si t y of Nevada, Nevada, Pr epr i nt .
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