Dilution Skin Thickness
Invert planar ore/diluent mass fraction to equal skin thickness on supplied faces; constant area/density, distinct from forward grade mixing.
Description
A planar dilution skin adds diluent around an ore width.
A planar dilution skin adds diluent around an ore width. Inverting a target diluent mass fraction converts density and width assumptions into equal extra thickness on each specified face.1
The tool returns perFaceSkinThicknessM, totalExtraWidthM. The computation uses supplied observations and parameters rather than acquiring measurements.
When to use Dilution Skin Thickness
Use this for the following task: Invert planar ore/diluent mass fraction to equal skin thickness on supplied faces; constant area/density, distinct from forward grade mixing. Prepare observations and calibration parameters on the same unit and reporting basis.
How to use Dilution Skin Thickness and understand its results
- Prepare the measured quantities and supplied model parameters. Match the units and align paired lists before calculating.
- Enter oreWidthM, oreDensityTonnesPerM3, diluentDensityTonnesPerM3, targetDiluentMassFraction, dilutionFaceCount according to the field table, then run the tool.
- Read perFaceSkinThicknessM, totalExtraWidthM. Use the calculation below to interpret the selected mean or the model’s signs, units and comparison flags.
- Review the supplied assumptions and calibration before comparing or reporting the result.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type and bounds | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| oreWidthM | Ore width m | number | Required |
| oreDensityTonnesPerM3 | Ore density tonnes per m3 | number | Required |
| diluentDensityTonnesPerM3 | Diluent density tonnes per m3 | number | Required |
| targetDiluentMassFraction | Target diluent mass fraction | number | Required |
| dilutionFaceCount | Dilution face count | integer | Required |
Use positive width and densities, a positive integer face count and a target fraction in [0,1). Zero dilution returns zero thickness.
total extra width = oreWidth×oreDensity/diluentDensity×fraction/(1−fraction); per-face skin = total/faceCount The symbols and boundary conditions refer to the supplied fields and the implementation described above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| perFaceSkinThicknessM | Per face skin thickness m | number |
| totalExtraWidthM | Total extra width m | number |
{
"input": {
"oreWidthM": 4,
"oreDensityTonnesPerM3": 3,
"diluentDensityTonnesPerM3": 2,
"targetDiluentMassFraction": 0.2,
"dilutionFaceCount": 2
},
"output": {
"perFaceSkinThicknessM": 0.7500000000000001,
"totalExtraWidthM": 1.5000000000000002
}
}Limitations and assumptions
The model assumes constant area, densities and equal skins. It does not represent irregular boundaries or compute blended assay grade.
Numerical inputs must be finite. Input-shape and calculation checks do not establish measurement quality or the validity of a supplied calibration.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Choose Grade Dilution when you need its operation: Balance ore and nonzero-grade diluent on a mass basis; grades share one unit, and higher-grade diluent may increase rather than reduce blended grade. Choose Leaching Recovery for the complementary operation: Infer leached metal from ore and changing residue mass/assay; accounts for mass loss with matched dry samples.
Background reference: Material balance in mineral processing.
References
-
Material balance in mineral processing — NPTEL, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Similar or alternative tools
- Grade Dilution
Balance ore and nonzero-grade diluent on a mass basis; grades share one unit, and higher-grade diluent may increase rather than reduce blended grade.
- Leaching Recovery
Infer leached metal from ore and changing residue mass/assay; accounts for mass loss with matched dry samples.