Effect of aggregate stockpile configuration and layout on dust emissions in an open yard

Fugitive dust emissions from stockpiles in an open storage yard of industrial sites and the subsequent atmospheric dust dispersion have brought about many environmental and economic problems. From the operational point of view, stockpile configuration and the pile’s layout parameters have to be considered due to the area restriction in a given location when designing an open storage system for bulk material like coal or iron ore. This paper employs CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) approach to describe the flow over the oval pile with flat-topped geometry under different wind directions. The results are compared to EPA experimental value to validate the simulation. Different pile arrangement scenarios with a constant material volume and a fixed height are comprehensively investigated. Data obtained are then integrated to estimate dust emissions of stockpiles by using the EPA estimation mode. Results suggest that changing pile arrangement space as well as pile configuration can reduce dust emissions in the open storage yard. It is found that, for the range of wind conditions and pile layouts tested, the eroded dusts produced by the flat-topped oval stockpile is 13–60% lower than the values of conical piles. In a real yard where many piles are stocked with specific arrangement spaces, a shadow effect created by the upward piles makes the exposure of downwind piles less to the wind erosion. Results show that compact arrangement among the flat-topped piles along dominant wind direction has a good overall protecting effect from wind and favors to minimize the eroded dusts.