Abstract
The paper describes the problem of designing screw conveyors in terms of determining their exploitation characteristics. Based on the actual values of mass efficiency and power demand obtained in a laboratory experiment, the theoretical design methods and the numerical discrete element method model results were verified. The obtained results have shown that the currently used theoretical methods underestimate the mass efficiency and power demand compared to experiments when typical values of filling rate coefficient and progress resistance coefficient are used. It was also shown that the results of DEM simulations are in good agreement with the experiments in terms of mass efficiency and power demand. Based on the exploitation characteristics determined in DEM simulations for different constructions of the screw and different rotational speeds, multi-objective optimization of the exploitation parameters of the screw was performed in order to minimize the power demand of a screw conveyor and simultaneously maximize its mass efficiency. The optimization results showed that it is possible to find such construction and the rotational speed that will maximize the mass efficiency of the conveyor and keep the power demand low, reducing the exploitation costs of the device.
Highlights
Screw conveyors are intended for the short-distance transportation of bulk materials in food, agricultural, energy, or lime industry plants
There is a lack of papers on the possibilities of optimizing the construction of the screw conveyors. This is why this paper shows the discrete element method (DEM) simulation results of the transportation of cement performed to estimate the mass efficiency and power demand based on the experimental results
The currently used theoretical methods allow the determination of mass efficiency of a conveyor and the drive power based on the adopted dimensions of the screw, bulk density of the material, the rotational speed of the shaft, filling rate, and the progress resistance coefficient [1,16]
Summary
Screw conveyors are intended for the short-distance transportation of bulk materials in food, agricultural, energy, or lime industry plants. The behavior of bulk materials during transportation by a screw conveyor is very complicated It depends on many factors, such as the type and shape of the screw flights, the rotational speed of the shaft, the way of proportioning of the material, or the physical properties of the material. The up-to-date simulation studies have shown a very good agreement between DEM simulations and experimental results regarding the mass efficiency of a screw conveyor. Correct determination of power demand and efficiency of a screw conveyor allows the determination of exploitation characteristics, facilitating the choice of construction parameters and rotational speed to minimize the power demand and ensure effective transportation. There is a lack of papers on the possibilities of optimizing the construction of the screw conveyors This is why this paper shows the DEM simulation results of the transportation of cement performed to estimate the mass efficiency and power demand based on the experimental results. The results of multi-objective optimization of the exploitation parameters of a conveyor aimed at minimizing the power demand and maximizing the efficiency of a conveyor, performed with the use of the DEM method, are presented
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