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Chromite Spiral Concentrator (2D)

Top-down model of a Humphrey spiral concentrator, the gravity device used to upgrade chromite ore: dense chromite grains settle into the slow bed layer and hug the inner edge of the trough, while lighter gangue rides the faster outer film — tune the wash-water flow, feed grade and splitter cut and watch the concentrate/tailings split respond live.

Materials Science2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

Real spiral concentrators separate chromite from gangue purely by density, with no chemicals: ore slurry flows down a helical trough and, within each turn, denser chromite grains settle into the slow-moving bed layer near the inner edge while lighter silicate gangue stays suspended in the faster outer film. This 2D top-down view drives that same balance of Stokes settling velocity against flow-driven centrifugal drift, per particle, turn after turn, until a splitter at the discharge end cuts the flow into concentrate and tailings.

⚙ Under the hood

Each particle's radial position in the trough relaxes toward an equilibrium set by its Stokes settling velocity (density- and size-dependent) against the wash-water flow's centrifugal drift; a splitter position at the spiral's end reads that final position to sort concentrate from tailings, and grade/recovery are tallied live from actual particle counts.

spiral concentratorgravity separationstokes settlingcentrifugal driftmineral processingchromite

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install