Vibrating screens are used in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries to obtain multiple-particle-size distributions. Product engineers routinely use simulation to eliminate common operational problems, from corrosion and clogging to unwanted build-up and uneven feed distribution. The starting points for simulating the problems include vibration frequency, geometrical changes , angle of operation, tonnage and material types.
CADFEM used Rocky DEM to analyze a demonstration case, a screening mechanism that vibrates with a circular movement. The particles can accumulate and pass through “smaller” passages, and the screen’s aperture can lead to misleading results. Throughout the simulation process, engineers considered particle size definition and its impact to screen opening, model calibration with process data, model simplifications, domain reduction with periodic boundaries, and continuous/batch process runs.
This presentation includes:
- Common industry applications and issues
- Vibrating screen DEM
- Practical material model calibration procedure
- Particle size considerations
- Model simplifications with periodic BC and batch process
* This study was presented originally at the CADFEM & ANSYS Simulation Conference in October 2019 by Lucas Kostetzer, CAE Engineer at CADFEM.