Evaluation of dust emissions from conveyor transfer chutes using experimental and CFD simulation

This paper focuses on a study concerned with reducing dust emissions from belt conveyor transfer chutes in bulk material handling plants. Several transfer chute configurations were investigated with the aim of analysing the system performance. Scale model laboratory testing was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of each design in reducing dust emission. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate the flow pattern of the granular material and entrained air in each of the transfer chute configurations. To verify the feasibility of CFD for dust emission prediction, a two-phase three-dimensional Euler–Euler model was adopted to qualitatively predict the performance of six transfer chute configurations with respect to dust generation. The predicted dust emissions obtained from the simulations were compared with the scale model test results. The simulation predictions compared favourably with the experimental results, demonstrating that CFD can be used to qualitatively evaluate the performance of transfer chute designs with regard to dust emission.

► CFD can be used to model granular flow through a transfer chute. ► Reducing air velocity at the discharge point of transfers reduces dust. ► Using a stilling chamber at the discharge point of transfers reduces dust.