High-frequency vibrating screens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

High frequency vibrating screens are the most important screening machines primarily utilised in the
mineral processing industry. They are used to separate feeds containing solid and crushed ores down
to approximately 200m in size, and are applicable to both perfectly wetted and dried feed. The
frequency of the screen is mainly controlled by an electromagnetic vibrator which is mounted above
and directly connected to the screening surface. Its high frequency characteristics differentiates it
from a normal vibrating screen. The high frequency vibrating screens usually operates at an inclined
angle, traditionally varying between 0 to 25 degrees and can go up to a maximum of 45 degrees.
Besides, it should operate at a low stroke and has a frequency ranging from 1500 - 7200 RPM.
Pre-treatment of the feed is often required before the use of the high frequency screen as the
apertures in the screen may become blocked easily.
Contents
1 Range of Applications
1.1 Fractionated Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement
1.2 Mineral Processing
2 Advantages and Limitations
3 Available Designs
4 Main Process Characteristics
5 Characteristics Assessment
5.1 Screen Movement
5.2 Separation Efficiency
6 Possible Heuristics to be used during design of the process
6.1 Screen Selection
6.2 Pre-treatment of feed
7 Post-Treatment Systems
8 New Development
8.1 Screen Improvements
8.2 Mechanical Part Modifications
9 References
Range of Applications
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High frequency screens have become more standardized and widely adopted in materials
classification processes. It allows efficient cuts and fine separations, which can provide high purity
and precise sizing control of the product (for sizes of fine particles up to 0.074-1.5mm).
[1]
Common
industrial applications include dewatering of materials, processing of powder in coal, metallurgy,
ores and minerals, wood pelleting, fractionated reclaimed asphalt pavement, food, pharmaceutical
and chemical industry. Fineness of the products and system capacities varies over a huge range
between different models, to satisfy individual application requirements.
Fractionated Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement
Most commonly, high frequency screens are used to separate "reclaimed" asphalt pavement (RAP)
into multiple sizes and fractions, which allow producers to take full advantage of the recycled
materials. RAP is a recycle material that is reused in new pavement construction; any recycled
products are worth as much as what they replace.
[2]
As compared to conventional screening methods
which are limited to producing unacceptable sizes in the products, high frequency screens can
produce more efficient sizing to obtain a finer product. Another advantage of using high frequency
screens to recycle the reclaimed materials is the available aggregate and oil that can be reused, and
reducing the amount of new material required. Therefore, the capital cost for the process is lowered
while maintaining a high quality of the asphalt mixture. Moreover, high frequency screen applies
intensive vibration directly onto the screen media, such high RPM allows asphalt pavement material
to achieve a higher stratification and separate at a faster rate.
[3]
Mineral Processing
In mineral processing such as ferrous metals ore (e.g. iron, tin, tungsten, tantalum etc.) and
nonferrous metals ores (e.g. lead, zinc, gold, silver and industrial sand etc.), high frequency screens
have a crucial role. After the ores get comminuted, high frequency screens are used as a classifier
which selects materials size that is small enough to enter the next stage for recovery. For example,
the closed grinding circuit (e.g. recirculating network with ball mill). Firstly, it screens out the coarse
particles and recirculates them back to the grinding mill machine. Then, the fine grain material will
be unloaded timely, avoiding over crushing caused by re-grinding.
[4]
The benefits of using high
frequency screens in mineral processing can meet the requirement of fineness easily for recovery and
is able to achieve a smaller size separation, reducing capacity needed for comminution stage and
overall energy consumption. Hence, improving the grade of the final product and providing a better
recovery and screening efficiency.
Advantages and Limitations
The high frequency vibrating screens achieves a high efficiency of separation and differs from its
counterparts since it breaks down the surface tension between particles. Also the high level of RPMs
contributes to increasing the stratification of material so they separate at a much higher rate.
Separation cannot take place without stratification. Furthermore since the screen vibrates vertically,
there is a popcorn effect whereby the coarser particles are lifted higher and finer particles stay
closer to the screen, thus increases the probability of separation. In some high frequency vibrating
screens the flow rate of the feed can be controlled, this is proportional to the popcorn effect; if the
flow rate lowers, the effect is also decreased. Limitations of the high frequency vibrating screen are
that the fine screens are very fragile and are susceptible to becoming blocked very easily. Over time
the separation efficiency will drop and the screen will need to be replaced.
[5]
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The 'popcorn effect' during screening of minerals in
high frequency vibrating screens
The movement pattern of a particle down a vibrating screen.
An alternative to the high frequency vibrating
screens is the rotary sifter. A rotary sifter uses a
screen which rotates in a circular motion and
the finer particles are sifted through the
apertures. It is also generally used for finger
separations; between 12mm to 45m particle
size. The rotary sifter will usually be chosen
based on the nature of the substance being
separated; whey, yeast bread mix, cheese
powder, fertilizers. The rotary sifter is often
preferred in the non-metallurgical industry and
operates in a way to achieve a dust and noise
free environment. The limitation for the rotary
sifter is that it cannot handle a high capacity
compared to the high frequency vibrating
screen. Both equipment, however, achieve a
high screening efficiency.
[6]
Available Designs
Conventional and general design for a high frequency vibrating screen consists of mainframe, screen
web, eccentric bock, electric motor, rub spring and coupler.
[7]
The two most common types of
vibrators which induce the high frequency vibrations are hydraulic or electric vibrators,
[8]
these
electric vibrators are either electric motors or solenoids.
[6]
Common designs for screening decks are
either single or double deck. In addition, another feature of high frequency vibrating screens are the
static side plates which provide benefits such as smaller support structure, less noise, longer life, and
hence less maintenance. In industry, the screens are operated at a tiled angle up till 40 . The high
frequency (1500 7200 rpm) and low amplitude (1.2 2.0 mm) characteristics leads to the vertical-
elliptical movement that rapidly transports oversized particles down the screen.
[9]
Creating a thin bed
of particles, this improves the efficiency and capacity of the screen.
Stationary screens are typically used in
plants and not moved around. In the
mineral processing industry, equipment
often has to be moved to different sites
depending on the jobs taken up by a
company. Mobile screens thus are
another viable design for companies who
have to move their equipment often.
These include wheel-mounted and track-
mounted plants which allow for easy
transportation and movement of the screens. Typical mobile screen designs are shown in the
diagrams on left.
Main Process Characteristics
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A mobile screening equipment with a
single deck.
[10]
A mobile screening equipment with a
double decker screen.
[11]
The screening performance is affected significantly by
various factors such as equipment capacity and angle of
inclination, in which the performance can be measured by
screening efficiency and flux of the product.
[5]
Flux is defined as the amount of a desired component
(undersize material) that has carried over the screening media
from the feed per time per unit area.
[12]
Screening efficiency
is expressed as the ratio of the amount of material that
actually passes through the aperture, divided by the amount
in the feed that theoretically should pass. Commercially
perfect screening is considered to be 95% efficient
[6]
if the
process is operated with appropriate feed concentration and
size particles. Generally, a suitable particle size difference
between sieving and feed should be no more than 30%.
[5]
High screening efficiency can reduce the qualified gain
content in cyclic loading and screening and thus increasing
the processing capacity of the mill.
The equipment capacity is almost directly proportional to
screen width. This means that by increasing the length, there
will be additional chances for passage, and will usually lead
to increase in transmission and efficiency. In general, the
standard size of screen length should be two to three times
the width.
[5]
However, certain special situations such as
restricted space may require a different design.
Angle of inclination can be designed based on the desired
mineral grain. For example, wet sieving angle is generally
around 25 2 for concentrator. Increasing the slope of a screen will effectively reduce the aperture
by the cosine of the angle of inclination.
[5]
At the same time, the materials also move across the
screen faster which leads to more rapid stratification.
[5][6]
However, the performance tends to
decrease after a certain point since the slope of the deck is too high and most particles will remain on
the oversized stream instead of passing through the aperture, thus, lower flux is yielded.
Table below presents relationship between inclined angle with desired product flux and efficiency.
Inclined Angle () Flow Rate/Flux (m/min) Efficiency (%)
18 18.29 86.4
20 24.39 54.6
22 30.48 62.8
25 36.58 64.2
30 32.37 67.5
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Dependence of Screening Efficiency on the amplitude and frequency
of vibration
Characteristics Assessment
Screen Movement
The purpose of the vibrating
screen is that particles are
introduced to the gaps in the
screens repeatedly. The
frequency of the screen must be
high enough so that it prevents
the particles from blocking the
apertures and the maximum
height of the particle trajectory
should occur when the screen
surface is at its lowest point.
Based on the principle, there is
an optimum frequency and
amplitude of vibration
[5]
Transmission refers to the
fraction of desired particle that
passes through the apertures in
the screen. At low frequency, screening efficiency is high but blinding is severe. Blinding will
decrease as frequency increases but the particles will have difficulty going through the apertures.
When designing a high frequency vibrating screen, an optimum point of frequency and amplitude
must be chosen,
[5]
depending on the specific applications.
Separation Efficiency
The separation efficiency is simply a measure of the amount of material removed by the screen
compared to the theoretical amount that should have been removed. Screen efficiency can be
obtained using different equation, which depends on whether the desired product is the oversize or
undersize fraction from the screen.
The screen efficiency based on the oversize (E
o
) is given by:
The screen efficiency based on the undersize (E
u
) is then given by:
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where Q
ms
(o) is the mass flow rate of solid in the screen overflow, Q
ms
(f) is the mass flow rate of
solid feed, Q
ms
(u) is the mass flow rate of solid in the screen underflow, M
u
(o) is the mass fraction of
undersize in the overflow,
M
u
(f) is the mass fraction of undersize in the feed, M
u
(u) is the mass fraction of undersize in the
underflow.
[6]
The overall efficiency (E) is given by:
Possible Heuristics to be used during design of the process
In the process of sizing minerals there are often rules of thumbs that need to be followed in order to
achieve maximum efficiency in the separation.
Screen Selection
The selection on the screen type will be based on the materials that the equipment will be used to
process. A significant problem occurs with screens because if the screen is not suitable for the
material fed to the screen, the materials will blind the apertures and regular maintenance will be
required. Different types of screens have been developed to counter this problem. An example is the
"self-cleaning" wire; these wires are free to vibrate and so resistance to blinding will increase. The
particles will be shaken off the wires and apertures. However, there will be a trade-off with screening
efficiency.
[6]
Pre-treatment of feed
The high frequency vibrating screens will often be used as a secondary screener as its purpose is to
separate the finer minerals. This not only ensures good separation efficiency, it will also help to
maintain the life-time of the screen. Blinding can occur significantly if particle sizes are not within
the screens designed criteria.
[5]
Another problem that is often encountered is that the particles clump together due to the moist. This
will result in the undesired particle size that is not allowed to pass through the apertures into the
product stream. It is recommended that screening at less than around 5mm aperture size is normally
performed on perfectly dry materials.
[6]
A heated screen deck may be used to evaporate the moist in
the feed. It will also break the surface tension between the screen wire and the particles. An
alternative is to run the feed through a dryer before entering the high frequency vibrating screen.
Post-Treatment Systems
High frequency vibrating screens are widely used in many industrial process, thus there will be high
quantity of waste product released into the environment. It is important that these waste streams are
treated, since the untreated waste will cause damage to the environment over a sustained period of
time.
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An established post-treatment system is classification processing. In this system, the waste streams
are separated into different types of waste materials. The types of waste materials are classified into
recyclable materials, hazardous materials, organic materials, inorganic materials. Generally, waste
materials are separated using mechanical separation and manual separation.
[13][14]
Mechanical
separations are used for separating metals and other materials that may be harmful to the
environment, and also to prepare the waste stream for manual separations. Manual separation have
two types of sorting which are positive sorting and negative sorting.
[13][14]
Positive sorting collects
reusable waste such as recyclable and organic materials while negative sorting collects unusable
waste such as hazardous and inorganic materials. After this separation process, the recyclable
materials are transferred for reuse. The organic wastes are often treated using chemical processes
(e.g. combustion, pyrolysis etc.) or biological treatment (microbial decomposition).
[13][14]
The
products obtained from these waste organic materials are in the form of Refuse-Derived Fuel. RDF
can be used in many ways to generate electricity or even used alongside with traditional sources of
fuel in coal power plants.
[15]
The rest of the hazardous and unwanted inorganic wastes are transferred
to landfill to be disposed. These post-treatment processes are crucial to sustain the environment.
New Development
Screen Improvements
The research on high frequency screens has led to new developments in the field which enhance the
operation and performance of the equipment. These new developments include the stacking of up to
5 individual screen decks placed on top of the other and operating in parallel. A divider system splits
the feed slurry to each stack sizer, then to each screen deck on the machine. Each screen deck has an
undersize and oversize collection pan which will respectively go into their common outlet. The
stacking of the machines thus allows more production while using less space.
[16]
Another new
development is the fabrication of Polyweb urethane screen surfaces that have openings as fine as
45 m and open areas from 35% - 45%. This leads to the screen being able to separate finer
particles. The screens can be used for both wet and dry applications and urethane formulation is still
an ongoing process. Thus, research and development is still being invested in high frequency
screening equipment to improve the overall separation efficiency and also to lower costs.
[17]
Mechanical Part Modifications
To further optimize the performance for high frequency vibrating equipment, a "variable speed"
hydraulic vibrator is being developed and used to drive the screen decks. It utilizes fluid hydraulic
force which then can be converted into rotary power in order to generate high frequency vibration.
[18]
This modification allows equipment to operate at higher frequency range, up to 8200 RPM,
compared to the conventional electric vibrators. Besides that, the induced vibration also creates an
excellent condition for separating finer particles and improves the contacting probability for the
materials. Another variation that could be applied to the equipment is the "rotary tensioning system,
in which it helps to provide a quicker screen media change.
[10]
Therefore, multiple applications can
be achieved by single equipment, as with different size of feed material can be deal by replacing
screens in a very small downtime. Hence, it improves the economic benefits of plants.
References
Page 7 of 9 High-frequency vibrating screens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
19/08/2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_vibrating_screens
1. ^ China Suppliers, High efficiency,(2013),Mineral Processing High Frequency Vibrating Screen for Fine
Iron Ore, http://hcmining.en.made-in-china.com/product/aMGQVdYobCRb/China-High-Efficiency-
Mineral-Processing-High-Frequency-Vibrating-Screen-for-Fine-Iron-Ore.html, Last accessed: 1 October
2013.
2. ^ KPI-JCI and Astec Industries Inc.,(2013),Fractionated Reclaimed Asphalt
Pavement,http://www.befrapready.com/frap-advantage/frequently-asked-questions/index.php, Last
accessed: 28 September 2013.
3. ^ KPI-JCI and Astec Industries Inc.,(2013),High Frequency Screen, Mobile Screens Sales Sheet
4. ^ Shanghai Oriental Heavy Industry Machinery Co,.Ltd,(2013),For Grinding Circuit High Frequency
Screen Gives Great Help, http://pioneercrusher.com/new/For-Grinding-Circuit-High-Frequency-
Scre.html, Last accessed: 28 September 2013
5. ^
a b c d e f g h i
Enrol G. Kelly, Introduction to Mineral Processing, Wiley New York, 1982
6. ^
a b c d e f g
Wills, Barry A., (2006), Wills' Mineral Processing Technology: An Introduction to the
Practical Aspects of Ore Treatment and Mineral Recovery, 7th Edition, Elsevier, pp. 195-196.
7. ^ SBM Mining and Construction Machinery, Portable Vibrating Screen Spec, 2011,
http://www.pakistancrushers.com/stone_crushing_machine/vibrating-screen.html, Last accessed: 12
October 2013
8. ^ High Frequency Screen, KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens, Sales Sheet (2013), Astec Industries Inc.
9. ^ Dry Fine Screening Principle of Operation, Aggregate Composite Catalog, DC Agg CC (2009),
Derrick Corporation
10. ^
a b
Astec Mobile Screens, Vari-Vibe high frequency screen, 6 x 12 series, Specification Sheet
(2008), Astec Industries Inc.
11. ^ Astec Mobile Screens, Duo-Vibe high frequency screen, 6 x 12 series, Specification Sheet (2008),
Astec Industries Inc
12. ^ Dean Webber, (unknown), What is Screen Efficiency, http://www.ibulk.com.au/what-is-screening-
efficiency/, Last accessed: 1 October 23
13. ^
a b c
Asian Institute of Technology 2004: Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia. Asian Regional
Research Program on Environmental Technology (ARRPET)
14. ^
a b c
Solid Waste Management: Principles and Practice, (2012), Remesha Chandrappa, Diganta Bhusan
Das
15. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refuse-derived_fuel, Last accessed: 14 October 2013
16. ^ Derrick Corporation, (2013), Polyweb Urethane Screens, http://www.derrickcorp.com/
webmodules/catCatalog/dtl_Product.aspx?ID=33, Last accessed: 14 October 2013.
17. ^ Derrick Corporation, Stack Sizer, (2013), http://www.derrickcorp.com/webmodules/
catCatalog/dtl_Product.aspx?ID=42, Last accessed: 14 October 2013.
18. ^ KPI-JCI and Astec Industries Inc., (2013), High Frequency Screen, Mobile Screens Sales Sheet
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