Experimental Study on the Physical Properties of Iron Ore Granules Made from Australian Iron Ores

A fundamental experimental study was conducted to measure the physical properties of iron ore granules made from three types of Australian iron ores. In this study, some key physical property parameters, including apparent density, Young’s modulus and the coefficients of static and rolling frictions, of the iron ore granules with varying moisture content were investigated. The effect of granule size on the considered property parameters was also studied for the iron ore granules at the optimal moisture content which was determined by permeability pot packing test. The measurement results showed that both apparent density and Young’s modulus of iron ore granules generally decreased with moisture content due to the growth of adhering layer around the nuclei particles. The static friction coefficient generally increased with moisture content but, at lower moisture contents, its variation differed between the granule types. The rolling friction coefficient generally experience a minimum value as moisture content increased within the considered range. The moisture content for the minima varied with granule type due to the different characteristics of the ore types. At the optimal moisture content for each granule type, the apparent density of different granule size fractions showed variable values because of the heterogeneous composition of the raw mixture in each size fraction. The Young’s modulus and static friction coefficient showed slight downward and upward trends with the increase of granule size, respectively. The rolling friction coefficient is nearly independent of granule size.