Continuous separation of differently shaped fine particles on a rotating vibrating conical disk — effects of different operating conditions on separation characteristics under various throughputs

Abstract

A continuous shape separator equipped with a rotating vibrating conical disk was developed and its separation characteristics were investigated experimentally using binary mixtures of spherical and non-spherical fine particles under various throughputs. The effects of different operating conditions on the separation characteristics were confirmed as follows: (i) the separation of spherical particles from the mixture was obstructed mainly by residual non-spherical particles on the disk. The separation efficiency, η ∗ , depended on the number of non-spherical particles, N i, arranged in a direction normal to the spiral guide, and on the efficiency, η 0 ∗ , obtained under the non-obstructing condition (small in N i); (ii) an equation to predict the η 0 ∗ values was determined based on multiple regression analysis, and optimal conditions were derived from the equation; and (iii) high separation efficiencies were obtained under the following optimal conditions related to the disk; high vibrational amplitude for large throughputs; rotational speeds appropriate to the particle size; and a conical disk-surface inclination angle of approximately 6°.