Research on wheat flour‐making technology based on discrete elements

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AbstractThe operating characteristics of a mill's rolling distance and roller speed during wheat‐milling were studied to provide a reference for optimizing the operating parameters of the mill. The high‐performance discrete element method software (EDEM) was used to establish a roller‐crushing system for wheat flour production. Numerical simulations of wheat flour production were performed using this system. It was found that increasing the roller distance of the flour mill machine could reduce the wear of the grinding rolls and the power of the grinding roll system, which reduced the crushing rate of wheat during the milling process. Increasing the grinding roll speed can reduce the wear of the grinding rolls but will increase the wheat‐crushing rate. At a constant fast roller speed, increasing the speed ratio increased the wheat‐crushing rate which reduced the power of the grinding roller system. During the grinding roll wear process, the obtuse and sharp angles gradually disappear. A comparison of the simulation and experimental results shows that the discrete element method can accurately predict the wear of the grinding roll.Practical ApplicationsThe milling machine is a key piece of equipment used for making wheat flour. The rolling distance, speed, and speed ratio of grinding rolls are important operating parameters during mill operation. Selecting specific parameters will directly affect the quality of wheat‐milling and the economic efficiency of the milling enterprise. This study adopted a discrete element method to study the effects of these parameters on wheat milling, providing a good reference for the technical personnel of milling enterprises.