Prediction of Suitable Water Content in Granulation of Sintering Mixture Based on Litster’s Model

Suitable water content plays a decisive role in the granulation of sintering mixtures. Herein, a method was proposed to predict the suitable water content for effective granulation on the basis of Litster’s granulation model. The granulation effectiveness of a sintering mixture was predicted by the model, with the allowance error of ± 10%. The effects of the water absorption properties, particle size composition and content of adhesive particles on the suitable water content were studied. The results showed that the allowable error of prediction was within ± 0.5% compared to the experimentally determined suitable water content. With an increase in adhesive powder content of mixtures with higher water absorption, the suitable water content increased to achieve similar granulation effectiveness. Moreover, as the amount of concentrates increased, the suitable water content first increased and then remained steady. The influence of the water absorption characteristics of the adhesive particles on the suitable water content was less than that of their particle size composition in the mixture.