Comparison of micronized screening performance of flexible and steel screen surfaces with a new design screening machine

Numerical study and multi-objective optimization of flexible screening process of flip-flow screen: A DEM-FEM approach

Ferroelectric polymers from the PVDF-family have proven to be multifunctional and self-sustaining materials with a broad deployment in printed and flexible electronics. They can be used in large and flexible form factors for detecting mechanical excitations such as pressure variations, force touch and impact, for sensing human-body radiation and proximity, as vibration sensors for structure-borne sound detection and acoustics, as fast and high-precise strain sensors, as stretchable vital parameter sensors for movement, ECG and respiratory rate monitoring, as well as piezoelectric energy harvesting elements, just to name a few. This talk will provide an overview of the most attractive applications of PVDF-based devices such as pressure-sensitive human-machine interfaces on planar, flexible and 3D-shaped surfaces (also in combination with flexible displays), large-area impact sensing films for material and crash testing, sensors for structural health monitoring, ultrathin microphones smoothly integrated on versatile, arbitrary shaped object surfaces, smart skin patches for vital monitoring and intelligent floor for smart home applications and energy supply for low-power sensor networks. The sensors are entirely fabricated by screen printing which is one of the most common techniques used in printed electronics for the fabrication of large-area flexible components and multifunctional devices. Screen printing is highly tolerant to the type and form factor of substrates, the rheology of ink materials, provides sufficient alignment accuracy for multilayer printing and can be done in a sheet-to-sheet or roll-to-roll scheme. The printed ferroelectric polymer sensors come in two versions; (i) either they have a sandwich-type structure of four layers that are printed onto a flexible or stretchable substrate (e. g. plastic films, paper, and textiles up to A3) and response accurately, fast and reproducibly to pressure and temperature changes over large dynamic ranges or (ii) a two layer structure that is highly sensitive to lateral strain and vibrations. By optimizing the design, the printing and annealing process as well as the poling conditions and the source material, functional sensors with a soft yield of more than 98% with less than ± 5% deviation in the remnant polarization were demonstrated. It is also interesting to note that extended aging tests under definite climate and shock conditions revealed more than 98% preservation of the remnant polarization for high molecular weight PVDF-TrFE polymers. Based on these sensors applications such as flexible 3D user interfaces [1,2] (Fig. 1) and large-area force, impact and proximity sensors, ultrathin object-integrated microphones as well as medical patches will be presented either in a passive-matrix or an active-matrix ferroelectric sensor configuration with OTFT- or OECT-backplane. Finally, a novel printable nanocomposite material, which allows reducing the cross-sensitivity between the pyro- and piezoelectric sensing modes, will be presented. This material is composed of inorganic ferroelectric nanoparticles blended in a ferroelectric polymer matrix. By exploiting the fact that the piezoelectric coefficient in inorganic ceramics has an opposite sign to that one of the ferroelectric polymer either the piezo- or the pyroelectric activity can be suppressed by independently defining the poling direction of particles and matrix in a clever poling procedure [3]. M. Zirkl, A. Sawatdee, U. Helbig, M. Krause, P. Bodö, P. Andersson Ersman, D. Platt, S. Bauer, G. Domann, and B. Stadlober, Adv. Mat. 23, 2069 (2011)C. Rendl, D. Kim, P. Parzer, S. Fanello, M. Zirkl, G. Scheipl, M. Haller, S. Izadi, FlexCase: Enhancing Mobile Interaction with a Flexible Sensing and Display Cover, Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, San Jose, California, USA, pp. 5138-5150, doi: 10.1145/2858036.2858314 (2016)I. Graz, M. Krause, S. Bauer-Gogonea, S. Bauer, S. P. Lacour, B. Ploss, M. Zirkl, B. Stadlober, and S. Wagner, J. Appl. Phys. 106, p. 034503 (2009) Figure 1

In the present work, optimization of the newly developed vibrating screen’s operational parameters was carried out to obtain a high response parameter. The operational parameters considered in the present work were moisture content, angle, and frequency. The Taguchi L27 design technique was used to optimize three different operational parameters to obtain high screening efficiency of coal in the vibrating screen. The maximization of screening efficiency was obtained by selecting the “larger the better” condition for developing the model. The regression coefficient of 99.6% shows the close relationship between the predicted and experimental values. The lower value mean error and standard deviation of normal probability indicate that the developed model has less error. From the optimization results, it was clear that the 4% moisture content (low level), 1-degree angle (low level), and 9 Hz frequency (medium level) yielded high screening efficiency. Further, a confirmation test was carried out with the optimized condition, which has yielded a screening efficiency of 84.40%. The results showed that the Taguchi technique could be applied to study the influential operational parameters for maximizing the vibrating screen efficiency.

Effect of excitation parameters on motion characteristics and classification performance of rigid-flexible coupled elastic screen surface for moist coal

In this study, a new flexible screen surface structure with an additional striking beam was proposed for improved efficiency and addressing the clogging issue while processing moist coal material. Vibration tests were used to analyze the time-frequency characteristics of the screen surface and the striking beam under no-load and load conditions. The effects of different process parameters on the elastic screening effect of viscous and wet materials were explored. Further, the industrial application of the equipment was preliminarily carried out. The results showed that the load did not affect the main vibration frequency of the elastic screen surface and the striking beam. When the axis distance was adjusted to 7.5 cm, the displacement from the feeding end to the discharge end gradually decreased, promoting the rapid loosening and stratification of the material group. Semi-industrial tests showed that the optimal screening effects had a screening efficiency of 92.16% and a total misplaced content of 5.95% when exciting force was 18 kN, the exciting frequency was 10.8 Hz, the feeding rate was 9.36 t/h, the distance was 7.5 cm, and the moisture content was 8.21%. The GQPSS1848 vibrating screen applied in the industry achieved a screening efficiency of 86.66% at a processing capacity of 85 t/h with a broad commercial prospect. The study aims to provide theoretical and technical support for the research and development of flexible screening equipment and the efficient classification of −3 mm sticky and wet materials.

Investigation of cigarette effect and elastic-plastic behavior of green iron pellets on the roller screen efficiency

The conventional screening machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in almost every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalanced rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, and high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors, along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure, shake other machines and structures in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The final designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. The key components include smart motor and associated electronics, resonators, and supporting structural elements. It is shown that the smart motors have an acceptable life and performance. Resonator (or motion amplifier) designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. All the components for a fully functional prototype are fabricated and have been tested.

The conventional screening machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in almost every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalanced rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, and high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors, along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure, shake other machines and structures in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The final designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. The key components include smart motor and associated electronics, resonators, and supporting structural elements. It is shown that the smart motors have an acceptable life and performance. Resonator (or motion amplifier) designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. All the components for a fully functional prototype are fabricated. The development program is on schedule. The last semi-annual report described the completion of the design refinement phase. This phase resulted in a Smart Screen design that meets performance targets both in the dry condition and with taconite slurry flow using PZT motors. This system was successfully demonstrated for the DOE and partner companies at the Coleraine Mineral Research Laboratory in Coleraine, Minnesota. Since then, the fabrication of the dry application prototype (incorporating an electromagnetic drive mechanism and a new deblinding concept) has been completed and successfully tested at QRDC's lab.

The conventional vibrating machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in most every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalance rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, and high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors, along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure, shake other machines and structures in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The final designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. The key components include smart motor and associated electronics, resonators, and supporting structural elements. It is shown that the smart motors have an acceptable life and performance. Resonator (or motion amplifier) designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. All the components for a fully functional prototype are fabricated. The system is assembled and tested under laboratory and field conditions. The lab results are promising and the field test resulted in system performance drop due to plant structure not able to provide the required stiffness. The PZT-based Smart Motors performed better than expected. None of the Smart Motors failed during testing and the results were very encouraging. The development program is on schedule. Supporting structure was modified to improve system rigidity and integrity to help improve overall system performance. The improved supporting structure was fabricated and tested in the lab and in field. Results showed a significant improvement in reducing undesirable supporting structure vibration, better system performance and ease of installation. We plan to work on system installation sensitivity to relax plant structure foundation requirement. This would be necessary for the PZT-based system to perform better and not loose energy into the plant structure.

The conventional vibrating machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in most every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalance rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure shake other machines and structure in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The conceptual designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. These key components include: smart motors and resonators. It is shown that the smart motors have a good life and performance. The resonators are utilized to amplify motion generated by smart motors. Resonator designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. In addition, a tabletop demo unit was developed and demonstrated during a conference in 2003. This demo is reviewed in this report. The concept has shown promise and the program is on schedule.

The conventional screening machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in almost every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalanced rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, and high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors, along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure, shake other machines and structures in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The final designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. The key components include smart motor and associated electronics, resonators, and supporting structural elements. It is shown that the smart motors have an acceptable life and performance. Resonator (or motion amplifier) designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. All the components for a fully functional prototype are fabricated. The development program is on schedule. The last semi-annual report described the need and the work accomplished to design a supporting structure. The modified supporting structure design improved system rigidity and integrity and helped improve overall system performance. Lab test results showed a significant improvement in reducing undesired supporting structure vibration, better system performance and ease of installation. However the system performance suffered severe losses due to installation requirement. Since then significant work was completed both in terms of analysis and experimentation to minimize system installation sensitivity and to relax plant structure foundation requirement. Lab test on the modified system are near completion and we plan to test the system in field in early next quarter. With the assistance of Albany Research center, strain measurements were successfully completed on the S3i-101 unit. This report also includes the work initiated to investigate feasibility of inserting SmartScreens{trademark} technology in the field of dry applications.

The conventional vibrating machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in most every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalance rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, and high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors, along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure, shake other machines and structures in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The final designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. The key components include smart motor and associated electronics, resonators, and supporting structural elements. It is shown that the smart motors have an acceptable life and performance. The electronics required for the smart motors are presented in this report. Resonator (or motion amplifier) designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. All the components for a fully functional prototype are fabricated. The system is assembled and tested under laboratory conditions. The results are promising. The development program is on schedule. The PZT-based system and current production units performed better than expected. The results of the suspended unit were very encouraging. None of the Smart Motors failed during testing. The tests were successful. We plan to modify the supporting structure to improve system rigidity and integrity that should help improving the overall system performance. The improved supporting structure will be fabricated in the next period.

The conventional screening machines used in processing plants have had undesirable high noise and vibration levels. They also have had unsatisfactorily low screening efficiency, high energy consumption, high maintenance cost, low productivity, and poor worker safety. These conventional vibrating machines have been used in almost every processing plant. Most of the current material separation technology uses heavy and inefficient electric motors with an unbalanced rotating mass to generate the shaking. In addition to being excessively noisy, inefficient, and high-maintenance, these vibrating machines are often the bottleneck in the entire process. Furthermore, these motors, along with the vibrating machines and supporting structure, shake other machines and structures in the vicinity. The latter increases maintenance costs while reducing worker health and safety. The conventional vibrating fine screens at taconite processing plants have had the same problems as those listed above. This has resulted in lower screening efficiency, higher energy and maintenance cost, and lower productivity and workers safety concerns. The focus of this work is on the design of a high performance screening machine suitable for taconite processing plants. SmartScreens{trademark} technology uses miniaturized motors, based on smart materials, to generate the shaking. The underlying technologies are Energy Flow Control{trademark} and Vibration Control by Confinement{trademark}. These concepts are used to direct energy flow and confine energy efficiently and effectively to the screen function. The SmartScreens{trademark} technology addresses problems related to noise and vibration, screening efficiency, productivity, and maintenance cost and worker safety. Successful development of SmartScreens{trademark} technology will bring drastic changes to the screening and physical separation industry. The final designs for key components of the SmartScreens{trademark} have been developed. The key components include smart motor and associated electronics, resonators, and supporting structural elements. It is shown that the smart motors have an acceptable life and performance. Resonator (or motion amplifier) designs are selected based on the final system requirement and vibration characteristics. All the components for a fully functional prototype are fabricated. The development program is on schedule. The last semi-annual report described the process of FE model validation and correlation with experimental data in terms of dynamic performance and predicted stresses. It also detailed efforts into making the supporting structure less important to system performance. Finally, an introduction into the dry application concept was presented. Since then, the design refinement phase was completed. This has resulted in a Smart Screen design that meets performance targets both in the dry condition and with taconite slurry flow using PZT motors. Furthermore, this system was successfully demonstrated for the DOE and partner companies at the Coleraine Mineral Research Laboratory in Coleraine, Minnesota.

8 - Industrial screening

This study addresses for the first time the relationship between working memory and performance measures in image-guided instrument navigation with Minimally Invasive Surgical Trainer-Virtual Reality (MIST-VR) and GI Mentor II (a simulator for gastroendoscopy). In light of recent research on simulator training, it is now prime time to ask why in a search for mechanisms rather than show repeatedly that conventional curriculum for simulation training has effect. The participants in this study were 28 Swedish medical students taking their course in basic surgery. Visual and verbal working memory span scores were assessed by a validated computer program (RoboMemo) and correlated with visual-spatial ability (MRT-A test), total flow experience (flow scale), mental strain (Borg scale), and performance scores in manipulation and diathermy (MD) using Procedicus MIST-VR and GI Mentor 11 (exercises 1 and 3). Significant Pearson's r correlations were obtained between visual working memory span scores for visual data link (a RoboMemo exercise) and movement economy (r = -0.417; p < 0.05), total time (r = -0.495; p < 0.01), and total score (r = -0.390; p < 0.05) using MIST-MD, as well as total time (r = -0.493; p < 0.05) and efficiency of screening (r = 0.469; p < 0.05) using GI Mentor 11 (exercise 1). Correlations also were found between visual working memory span scores in rotating data link (another RoboMemo exercise) and both total time (r = -0.467; p < 0.05) and efficiency of screening (r = -0.436; p < 0.05) using GI Mentor 11 (exercise 3). Significant Pearson's r correlations also were found between visual-spatial ability scores and several performance scores for the MIST and GI Mentor II exercises. Findings for the first time demonstrate that visual working memory for surgical novices may be important for performance in virtual simulator training with two well-known and validated simulators.