Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 451455

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Mining Science and Technology (China)

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Screening efciency and screen length of a linear vibrating screen using DEM 3D simulation
Wang Guifeng, Tong Xin
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
The effect of screen length on the screening efciency of particles is studied under various single parameter conditions including frequency, amplitude, vibration angle, and screen inclination. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been used to simulate the screening process. A functional relationship between screening efciency and screen length is established. It is shown that screening efciency and screen length have a complicated exponential relationship. Relationships between them are profoundly discussed and conclusions are easily drawn: low values of the parameters do not benet screening; screening efciency generally increases with screen length; screening efciency reaches a plateau when these parameters are in range frequently encountered in practical applications. 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.

Article history: Received 28 October 2010 Received in revised form 22 November 2010 Accepted 26 December 2010

Keywords: Screen length Screening efciency Discrete element method

1. Introduction Sieving and screening are widely used in industry as a unit operation for large-scale separation of particles according to size and in the laboratory as a tool for the analysis of particle size distribution, usually at a small scale [1]. Sieving is one of the oldest and most widely employed physical size separation methods [2]. Although this very ancient technique may be dated back to thousands of years ago, an insightful understanding of this technique has never been realized due to the complicated size distribution, and composition of industrial particulate solids. The comprehensive effect of particle motion under various operational parameters and screen congurations further complicates the question [3]. A lack of advanced analytical and experimental techniques for the study of particulate systems has also hindered progress in this area. As a result, most published information on sieve and screen performance has been empirical in nature [4]. In the process of modeling batch sieving or continuous screening, particulates that are generated, or stored, by a particle factory fall off the outlet of the feeding hopper by the action of gravity and then reach the surface of the screen. Oversize particles bounce along the screen and the bulk of the undersize particles pass through the apertures. Size classication occurs by presenting each particle to the screen surface. This is the simplest process of screening. The screening process consists of two regions: a crowded region and a separated region. At the beginning where particles
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 595 22703657.
E-mail address: ccq@hqu.edu.cn (X. Tong).

are arriving the screen surface the accumulation of particles near the screen mesh causes the particles to be crowded and undersized particles must pass through gaps between the oversize particles. This is the crowded region. As particles travel along the screen surface more and more of the undersize particles pass through the apertures and the concentration of undersize particles in the owing mixture near the screen mesh drops. The assembly of particles then behaves more dilute and loose. This marks the beginning of the separated region. As the length of the screen surface increases there are more opportunities for particles to penetrate the apertures. There are a large number of factors that affect screen conditions and inuence screening efciency. Fortunately, the crucial effects of discrete particle motion on screening efciency have been identied by a number of researchers. These effects include grain segregation in the material layer and the way undersize particles approach the sieve and ultimately pass through the apertures. In addition, vibration parameters, structural parameters and the feed rate also inuence screening conditions and ultimately impact screening efciency. Vibration parameters consist of the amplitude, the frequency, and the vibration angle. Structural parameters include the width of the screen, the length of the screen, the diameter of the wire, the aperture size, and the screen inclination. The effect of screen length on screening efciency has been studied for a long time and numerous experts have drawn various conclusions based on their experiments and experience. Li Zhengliang noted that an increase in screen length causes the screening point to come back and the penetration diameter to increase [5]. There was a peak in the screening efciency over only a certain range. Yin Shouren also stated that the choice of screen length

1674-5264/$ - see front matter 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. doi:10.1016/j.mstc.2011.05.026

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should take the distribution of particles into account [6]. Finer particles require a shorter length of screen surface. Zhao Yuemin suggested that screen length did not inuence the probability density function for penetration but mainly determines the intercept boundary of the screened products [7]. Some researchers have proposed, either from 2-D studies or experiments, that screen efciency and screen length are subject to a diminishing exponential distribution [8,9]. Increasing the length of the screen can bring screening efciency to 100%, theoretically. This paper introduces the effect of screen length on screening efciency for an inclined screen surface under various single parameter experiments using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The results show that numerical simulation of screening has tremendous superiority over traditional methods. 2. DEM The application of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to vibratory screen analysis is a great improvement that was introduced by Cundall and Strack [10] as a way to model the behavior of dense solid assemblies in soil. The sieving analysis initially employed a rst-order rate law to analyze screening, e.g.; the random path model of Jansen and Glastonbury, which was only applicable to independent particles [4]. Then ideas from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were adopted and the solids were treated as a continuum. Finally, multiphase ow models using the, so called, Lagrangian approach or the DEM are now being developed where the motion of each individual particle is determined as a consequence of all the forces acting on it. The basic advantage of this method over continuum techniques is that it simulates effects at the particle level and there is no need for global assumptions about the assembly response, which is directly output from the simulation. The fundamental theory of particulate simulation uses the springs and dash pots model to represent particle interactions, as shown in Fig. 1. This has been adopted in most of the current DEM applications to particulate ows. Particles are assumed to be cohesion-less elastic bodies and the microscopic particleparticle and particleboundary interactions are calculated along with the evolution of the particle trajectories. The magnitude of the normal force, F n , and the tangential force, F t , are:

cient of restitution as dened by the ratio of the post-collisional to pre-collisional normal components of the relative velocities

q C 2c mij kn ;
where

Ine c q 2 p In2 e
and mi mj mij m gives the reduced mass of particles i and j with i mj masses mi and mj. Once F t surpasses the limiting friction force the particles slide over each other and the tangential force is then calculated using the friction coefcient, f:

F t fF n

By knowing the various forces, which always include contact and gravitational forces, acting on the particles the velocity and the trajectory of each individual particle may be computed by integration over time. Eqs. (1) and (2) show a linear relationship between the contact forces and the displacements, which takes the form of Hookes law. Seville et al., stated that the linear spring model is the simplest mathematical form, and it is fairly widely used [11]. Tsuji et al., assumed a small value for the stiffness, k, of 800 N/m [12]. This allowed a large time step in the calculations while still producing realistic particle motion with reduced computation times. For a DEM simulation the time step is vital and should be selected based on trial runs. Different values are tried until a reasonable and stable result is obtained. As a result of this a time step equal to, or less than, 5 107 s has been found sufcient to produce repeatable results without introducing excessive particle motion caused by unrealistic particle collisions. The coefcient of viscous dissipation, C, is related to the coefcient of restitution that is one of the physical properties of the particles, and can easily be obtained from experiments. 3. Simulation and discussion 3.1. Conditions of the simulation A 3D DEM model (Fig. 2) was set up to simulate the screening process for an angle of 21 degree as the screen inclination. The screen box is 160 mm long, 30.5 mm wide, and 80 mm high. The boundary consists of a woven mesh with a wire diameter of 0.7 mm and a square aperture 1 mm on a side. This provides an aperture that allows undersize particles to pass through it. Particles fed onto the front section of the screen by gravity, via the particle factory, fall to the screen mesh where some pass through

F n kDxn C v n F t kDxt C v t

1 2

where Dxn and Dxt are the particle displacements in the normal and tangential directions, v n and v t the relative velocities, k the stiffness of the spring, and C the coefcient of viscous dissipation. The normal force is a spring that provides the repulsive force and a dash pot to dissipate a proportion of the relative kinetic energy. The normal damping coefcient, C, is chosen to give the required coef-

Fig. 1. Models of contact forces.

Fig. 2. Schematic layout of the vibration screening model.

G. Wang, X. Tong / Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 451455 Table 1 Summary of modeling conditions. Material property Particle Screen Collision property Particleparticle Particlescreen Particle diameter Screen aperture Screen declination Poissons ratio 0.3 0.29 Coefcient of restitution 0.1 0.2 Mean 0.5 and 1.0 mm Std. Dev. 0.45 0.7 mm0.7 mm 21 Shear modulus 23 MPa 79.92 GPa Coefcient of static friction 0.545 0.5 Particle generation rate Particle generation position Density 2678 kg/m3 7861 kg/m3 Coefcient of rolling friction 0.01 0.01

453

50,000 particle/s Particle factory positioned randomly

the apertures and become an underow stream. Other particles rebound along the screen surface and become the overow stream. This study employs a mixture of two different sized particles, which consists of bimodal normal distribution with individual mean diameters of 0.5 and 1.0 mm. The standard deviation in diameter is 0.45. The spherical particle density is 2687 kg/m3, which have similar properties to sands. The initial velocity calculated from the feed was assigned to all the particles. At the moment of generation the particle velocity is assumed to be vx = vy = 0 and vz = 0.01 m/s. As a result of vibration the velocities in all three dimensions changes because the particles contact each other and the screen surface. The conditions and parameters of the model are listed in Table 1. Simulations have been divided into four groups according to the parameters used. The rst group was conducted using various amplitudes: 0.5, 1.5, 2.55, 3.5, 4.49, 5.0, and 7.0 mm, while the other conditions were held constant. For the second the frequency was varied: 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 Hz. Different vibration angles of 10, 21, 32, 44, 51, 61, 71, 81, 90, and 100 degrees were used for series three. Series four involved different inclinations: 0, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 45 degrees.

The length of the screen surface was 160 mm and it was evenly divided into eight parts so the relationship between screen length and screening efciency could be analyzed. 3.2. Screening efciency versus screen length: varied frequency and vibration angle Frequency mainly inuences the bounce state of particles on the screen surface. High frequency is benet to penetration and to avoid blinding of particles. The vibration angle is dened as the angle between the vibration direction and the screen surface. An appropriate vibration angle not only can improve well-proportioned bounce but also raise the screening efciency. The screening efciency curves for different frequencies appear and efciency curves for different screen inclinations appear in Fig 3. As the frequency increases there are obvious changes in the curves. Between 20 and 30 Hz, a commonly used range, the screening efciency increases at longer screen lengths one of which was shown as Fig. 3a at 20 Hz. Fig. 3b shows that efciency is almost proportional to screen length when the frequency is very high, over 50 Hz. Lower frequencies, less than 10 Hz, give curves that are

Fig. 3. Screening efciency curves for different frequencies and efciency curves for different screen inclinations.

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G. Wang, X. Tong / Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 451455

almost horizontal, see Fig. 3c. In this case a low peak emerged at a screen length of 60 mm mainly due to the moment of the particles falling on the screen surface. The vibration angle simulations are not exactly the same as those where frequency was varied. Although the curves of screening efciency still increase with screen length the rate of increase changes little varying from 10 to 91 degrees, see Fig. 3d and e. It can be concluded that longer screen length increases screening efciency at each frequency or vibration angle. However, higher frequencies and vibration angles show more sensitivity to this effect. The maximum screening efciency identied by simulations is in the range usually utilized in industrial screening applications. The identied frequency range is from 20 to 30 Hz and the vibration angle is from 30 to 60 degrees. The main reason the maximum appears in this range is that low frequencies cannot sustain bouncing and the particles lack kinetic energy. At excessively high frequencies the particles had high kinetic energy and touched the screen surface for a shorter period of time. Larger vibration angles extend the time of the particles stay on the screen surface and raise penetration efciency. When the vibration angle is over 100 degrees the particles have a

tendency to rebound, which then results in the pollution of oversize particles in the underow area. This can be seen in Fig. 3f. The screen length of 60 mm is critical because at this point there is a peak and the screening efciency becomes stable at longer lengths. In industrial screening applications only wet sieving of particles containing a mass of water employs a large vibration angle. 3.3. Screening efciency versus screen length: varied amplitude and screen inclination Vibration amplitude mainly inuences the kinetic energy of the particles. Large amplitudes contribute to energy transportation and stratication and also make the particles bounce higher and further [13]. This is also an important inuence on the required structural strength of the vibrating screen. Increased amplitude requires the structural strength to be taken into account [14]. Inclination of the screen is dened as the angle between a horizontal line and the screen surface. Changes in inclination directly inuence the horizontal projection of the holes in the screen cloth and the velocity of the particles moving, or bounding, on the inclined surface [15]. Large inclinations shrink the horizontal projection of the aperture

Screening efficiency (%)

Screening efficiency (%)

40 35 30 25 20 15 0

0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 40 80 120 160 Screen length (mm)

70 60 50 40 30 20 0

0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 40 80 120 160 Screen length ( mm)

Screening efficiency (%)

45

Diameters 0.7

0.5 0.8

0.6 0.9

60 80 50 40 30 20 0 40 mm a 0.5 2.2033 0.6 2.0616 0.7 2.1818 0.8 2.2033 0.9 2.6703 b 0.7914 0.8038 0.7896 0.7914 0.7472 c 0.0143 0.0164 0.0159 0.0143 0.0156 d 4.4040 4.6289 4.7619 4.4040 3.7108 160 RelE% 0.05993 0.03337 0.02084 0.01003 0.01253 200

80 120 Screen length (mm )

(a) Amplitude 0.5 mm

60

(b) Screen inclination 0 degrees

(c) Amplitude 2.55 mm

Screening efficiency (%)

50 50 40 30 20 10 0 20 40 mm a 0.5 2.1936 0.6 2.1945 0.7 2.1860 0.8 2.2978 0.9 2.4566 60 b 0.6839 0.6741 0.6837 0.6705 0.6594 c 0.0160 0.0127 0.0107 0.0095 0.0088 d 4.1565 2.9374 3.1076 3.5484 4.5542 RelE% 0.03062 0.02121 0.00535 0.00506 0.00764

Screening efficiency (%)

40 30 20 10 mm a 0.5 1.7738 0.6 1.9711 0.7 2.0130 0.8 2.3092 0.9 2.9342 0 20 40 60 b 0.7648 0.7034 0.7040 0.6546 0.6014 c 0.0170 0.0162 0.0157 0.0121 0.0101 d 3.4302 3.1369 2.9049 3.0904 3.1791 RelE% 0.01438 0.00759 0.00480 0.02845 0.02379

80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Screen length ( mm)

80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Screen length (mm)

(d) Screen inclination 25 degrees

50

(e) Amplitude 4.49 mm

Screening efficiency (%)

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 0 20 40 mm 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 RelE% 0.01276 0.01383 0.02180 0.02176 0.02592 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Screen length (mm) a 2.4920 2.5722 2.5210 2.7109 2.4752 b c 0.5140 -0.0120 0.4831 -0.0245 0.5364 -0.0030 0.5688 0.0093 0.6216 0.0142 d 5.4312 6.5146 5.5467 4.7569 3.6176

(f) Screen inclination 35 degrees

Fig. 4. Efciency versus screen length.

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and the horizontal component of velocity rises. Penetration probabilities of the particles decrease in the normal direction and as a result this contributes to an increase in productivity. Fig. 4a and b show the situation of small amplitude and screen inclination (an amplitude of 0.5 mm and an inclination of 0 degrees). It can be seen that the screen length is important at 60 mm because screening efciency changes at this point. Fig. 4a shows that screening efciency decreases as screen length approaches 60 mm. Fig. 4b shows that screening efciency increases as screen length approaches 60 mm. The main reason amplitude affects efciency is that the momentum of a falling particle increases the penetration probability and the particles have little bounce after 60 mm. Over the range frequently used in practice all of the screening efciency curves are strictly convex but the slopes become smaller. The rate of growth in screening efciency decreases as can be seen in Fig. 4c and d (an amplitude of 2.5 mm and an inclination of 25 degrees). Once the screen inclination, or amplitude, surpasses a critical value (an amplitude of 3 mm or an inclination of 35 degrees) the curves of screening frequency are almost proportional to the length of screen as illustrated in Fig. 4e and f. Finally, it appears that screen length is a benet for the increase in screening efciency in the amplitude and screen inclination simulations. Note that amplitude and inclination play an important role in the simulations: longer screen lengths give higher screening efciency (approaching a theoretical 100% efciency) in the amplitude and inclination simulations. 4. Establishment of a function relating screen length to screening efciency The entire simulated data, including frequency, vibration angle, amplitude, and screen inclination simulations, were t with a least square method. A function describing how screening efciency varies with screen length, at low relative errors, is:

horizontal lines, i.e.; screen length has almost no effect on screening efciency. However, with the growth of these parameters the screening efciency increases with screen length as shown in Figs. 3a, d, e, 4c, and d. However, the rate of growth becomes more and more stable. When the parameters become very large (a frequency of approximately 50 Hz, an amplitude of 5.0 mm, an vibration angle of 90 degrees, or an inclination angle of 35 degrees) the screening frequency curves are almost proportional to the length of screen. In particular, optimal screening efciency is obtained when the parameters are in their frequently used range, which has been proved by many researchers and by practical application. (3) DEM-3D was conveniently and exibly used for the simulations. One advantage of DEM is that it is convenient for calculating the number, position, and weight of the particles. In addition the motion and traces of the particles recurs during screening so the computational costs were signicantly reduced. It is expected that DEM has the ability to analyze particle stratication, penetration, and blinding.

Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledged the Special Topic Fund of Key Science and Technology of Fujian Province (No. 2006HZ0002-2) for the nancial support of these studies. References
[1] Coulson JM, Richardson JF. Chemical engineering V2-particle technology and separation process. 4th ed. Oxford: Pergamon; 1991. [2] Standish N. The kinetics of batch sieving. Powder Technol 1985;41: 5767. [3] Li J, Webb C, Pandiella SS, Campbell GM. Discrete particle motion on sieves-a numerical study using the DEM simulation. Powder Technol 2003;133: 190202. [4] Jansen ML, Glastonbury JR. The size separation of particles by screening. Powder Technol 1967/1968;1:33443. [5] Li Zh L, Men WB. Probability screening and design. SeaLake Salt Chem 1998;34(2):226. In Chinese. [6] Yin Sh R. Study of screening efciency and the length of screen. Coal Mine Mach 1998;7(1):113. In Chinese. [7] Jiao HG, Zhao YM. Study of parameter optimization of Probability screen surface. J Chin Univ Min Technol 2006;3:3848. In Chinese. [8] Zhao YM, Liu CS. Dry screening theory and application. Beijing: Science; 1991. [9] Jiao HG, Zhao YM. Screen simulation using a particle discrete element method. J Chin Univ Min Technol 2007;36(2):2326. [10] Cundall PA, Strack OD. A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies. Geotechnique 1979;29(1):4765. [11] Seville JPK, Tuzun U, Clift R. Processing of particulate solids. London: Blackie Academic & Professional; 1997. [12] Tsuji Y, Tanaka T, Ishida T. Lagrangian numerical simulation of plug ow of cohesion less particle in a horizontal pipe. Powder Technol 1992;71(3):23950. [13] Li YYF. Determination of kinematics parameters of linear vibrating screen. Coal Mine Mach 2008;29(3):334. In Chinese. [14] Wang Zh H, Fan GY. Vibrating Screen Structure Strength Analysis. J Shenyang Archit Eng Civil Inst 1999;15(3):27881. In Chinese. [15] Standish N, Meta I. Some kinetic aspects of continuous screening. Powder Technol 1985;41:16571.

y axb ecx d

where x is screen length (mm), y is screening efciency (%) and a, b, c, and d are constant that change with particle diameter. The tting curves are depicted by the dotted line in Figs. 3a, b, d, e, and 4c, d, e and f. The constants and relative error (RelEs) are also shown in Figs. 3a, b, d, e, and 4c, d, e and f. This equation indicates that once a goal for screening efciency, such as 80%, has been established the minimum screen length required can be calculated. This is helpful in the design of screening machinery. 5. Conclusions (1) A function relating screening efciency to screen length under various single parameter conditions (including frequency, amplitude, vibration angle, and screen inclination) was established from DEM 3D simulations. The results show that the function selected for tting was excellent in accordance. (2) When the parameters are extremely high or low (as shown in Figs. 3c, f, and 4a, and b) screening efciency curves are