OUTOTEC has announced the appointment of Dr. Alex Heath as Principal Research Engineer, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Process Modelling, for its thickener technology development group.
Outotec says Dr. Heath is a chemical engineer at the forefront of Computational Fluid Dynamics in the minerals processing sector.
According to Outotec, Heath is experienced in using CFD engineering technologies to optimise the design and function of thickeners. The company claims this has advanced the industry’s understanding of thickener flow patterns to unprecedented levels.
Dr. Heath has had ten years experience in the AMIRA P266 research project “Improving Thickener Technology,” which was supported by many of Australia’s major mining and mining supply companies.
Dr Heath holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Murdoch University, a BsC First Class Honours in Chemistry from Curtin University and has 12 years experience in the Australian mineral processing industry, including senior research and development positions with the CSIRO.
Outotec says CFD allows proposed thickener designs to be truly optimised for individual duties, with benefits including enhanced mixing, energy dissipation, flocculation, solids distribution and shear rates.
Outotec has also invested in the latest StarCD parallel processing software and multi-processor hardware to help clients capitalise on the many gains available through CFD.
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