Stream results and their engineering basis
A results table is useful when each quantity has a clear owner, definition and basis. Presentation choices and process calculations affect it in different ways.
A table represents a chosen comparison
The Stream Results Sheet gathers calculated quantities already stored for the project’s streams. It provides a way to compare related streams without opening each one separately. A useful starting comparison is one unit’s feed and each of its products, identified by the numbers or labels on the flowsheet.
The choice of streams follows the question being asked. A crusher comparison concerns size change as well as material flow; a screen comparison needs both product destinations; a component-separation comparison needs a defined product and recovery reference.
Selecting a report changes its view of the data
Adding or removing a stream from the report changes what is displayed, not the existence of its flowsheet connection. Selecting quantities and switching Streams as Columns or Streams as Rows similarly changes the presentation without changing the calculated material.
| Question about a unit | Useful starting quantities |
|---|---|
| How did crushing change the product? | Dry-solids flow, P80 and component grades in feed and product. |
| How did a screen divide its feed? | Solids, water, percent solids and size results in feed and both products. |
| Where did a component report? | Solids flow, component grade and recovery to a defined product. |
Units and component names belong in the definitions being compared. A short, focused table can make the process relationship easier to reason about than a report containing every available quantity.
Stored results and a new calculation are different stages
| Command | Relationship to the process calculation |
|---|---|
| Refresh | Reloads the table from results currently stored in the project. This can display a changed report configuration using the same calculated case. |
| Run Static + Load | Calculates the static flowsheet and then reloads the table. This allows changed process inputs to produce a new result before it is displayed. |
This distinction explains why a refreshed table is not necessarily evidence of a new process response. If feed data, equipment parameters or connections changed, the model must be recalculated. If only the report selection changed, the same stored results may be the intended data.
A result definition determines what a number answers
Column Description, reached through Results → Add Result…, specifies the result type and the name, unit, phase and any criterion or reference stream required by that type. The available fields depend on the selected data type.
| Result | Meaning and configuration |
|---|---|
| P80 | A particle size at which 80% passes. The dX distribution result uses phase Solids, X = 80 and a size unit such as µm or mm. |
| Percent passing at a chosen size | A percentage at a specified aperture. The passing/retained result uses Passing, the size and its unit; its value is not itself a particle size. |
| Component recovery | A ratio defined by a component, a destination product and a reference stream, using a consistent component-flow basis. |
P80 and percent passing at a specified size both concern a distribution, but answer different questions. Confusing their definitions can make two cases appear different merely because different quantities were reported.
Flow, grade and recovery describe related but distinct quantities
Dry-solids flow is a mass per time. The default water flow is a volume per time. Solids (%) is a mass fraction of the pulp, so interpreting it from water volume requires the appropriate water density to obtain water mass.
For a component on the dry-solids basis, the component flow follows from the solids flow and the component mass fraction:
The reference stream must contain a nonzero flow of the assessed component; otherwise the recovery ratio is undefined. A higher product grade alone does not establish higher recovery, because grade gives a concentration while recovery also depends on the quantity of material reporting to that product.
The chosen destination and reference stream are therefore part of the recovery definition. Where component composition varies with particle size, a coarse/fine separation can also produce different overall grades without a mineral-selective separation mechanism. The result needs to be interpreted through the material distribution as well as the model.
A summary value does not describe an entire distribution
P80 summarizes one point on the size distribution. Two streams can have the same P80 and different curve shapes. Overall component grade likewise can conceal different component distributions across size classes.
Stream Inspector provides the properties, cumulative-passing curves and component-by-size information behind those summaries. Its stream identity and SIM/EXP view establish which material and provenance are being inspected. This extra detail is useful when a summary alone cannot explain the result.
Exercise: assemble and explain a small stream comparison
- After the static calculation, open Results Sheet from the main toolbar. Identify a crusher’s feed and product on the flowsheet, then include those streams through the Streams menu.
- Select the quantities needed for their comparison in the available-results list. Select All and Clear change this visible set. Choose a row or column orientation that keeps the units and stream identities clear.
- Compare dry-solids flow, product size and component grades. Then make the corresponding comparison for a screen feed and both products. Check the balances on consistent physical bases.
- Add a size or recovery result through Results → Add Result… when the question requires it. State whether a size value is P80 or a percentage at a chosen aperture; identify the component, product and reference stream for recovery.
- If a process input changed, recalculate with Run Static + Load before interpreting its response. Refresh alone is appropriate for displaying the existing case after a report-configuration change.
- Export the checked displayed table with Export CSV. Keep the project and case assumptions with it so that its definitions and calculation can be traced later.