Rheological and settling behaviour of multi‐component mineral particle suspensions–Semi‐empirical models

Abstract In this study, mineral particle suspension is evaluated to understand the influence of multi‐component particles, particles of similar size but varying densities. Ores such as silica, magnetite, chromite, lead, and coal are used to prepare slurries with particle volume fractions ranging from 5 to 30 vol.% and heavy‐to‐light particle ratios from 0:100 to 100:0. Rheological measurements show pseudoplastic behaviour over a shear rate range of 0.1–300 s −1 . Settling experiments reveal preferential settling of denser particles, modelled mathematically to describe this behaviour. Rheograms are fitted to standard models (Bingham, Herschel–Bulkley, Casson, and Power law), though discrepancies arise at higher shear rates due to system complexity. A new model is proposed to predict the relative viscosity based on intrinsic viscosity, volume fraction, and packing factors, providing improved understanding of multi‐component slurry systems.