Magnetic Roller Research Articles

Key factors affecting the vertical eddy current separation efficiency between Cu and Al particles.

Solid waste contains abundant Al and Cu particles. Vertical eddy current separation is a potential method to separate and reuse them. The study analyzes the effects of particle shape, particle size, magnetic roller speed and structure on the separation by the vertical eddy current separation experiment and the combined simulation of COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB. For the separation between Cu and Al particles with common size ranges (the radii of 4∼8mm), the separation effects of cylindrical and spherical particles are better than that of flaky particles. The spherical Cu and Al particles repulsion distance difference is 1.95 times of that of the cylinder particles. Dividing materials into 4-5mm and 6-8mm smaller size ranges can eliminate the mixing and reach better effect. Increasing the magnetic roller speed is beneficial to separation. When the speed is 6000rpm, the Cu and Al particles are separated, and Halbach Array magnetic roller is advantageous to increase the separation grade. However, the rotational speed is also related to the magnetic roller structure, when the speed is greater than 6000rpm, the NS magnetic roller is more suitable to separate smaller size particles and the size range also is expanded (the radii of 2∼8mm). The results clarify the effects of key factors on the separation between Cu and Al particles, provide reference for recycling Cu and Al particles in solid waste, which are not only conducive to the sustainable development, but also have important environmental significance.

Research on Magnetic Field of Permanent Magnet Rolls Arranged Periodically in Circumferential—Axial Direction

The separation of non-magnetic non-ferrous metals such as copper and aluminum from scrapped automobiles is a critical area of research due to the increasing number of end-of-life vehicles. Traditional eddy current separation methods have limitations, particularly in handling large-sized broken copper and aluminum parts. This paper proposes a novel magnetic roller model featuring a circumferential–axial periodic arrangement of permanent magnets. This study explores the external magnetic field distribution of this new roller design by constructing an equivalent current model, solving magnetic scalar potential equations, and employing simulation tools. The findings indicate that the new magnet array enhances both the magnetic field strength and the range of the external magnetic field, leading to improved separation efficiency of large-sized metal fragments. The results provide a theoretical basis for advancing the separation technology of large-sized broken copper and aluminum parts in scrapped automobiles, offering potential improvements in the recycling of non-ferrous metals from end-of-life vehicles.

The effects of the separator structures and magnetic roller arrangements on eddy current separation

The eddy current separator is the key equipment used for the separation and enrichment of non-ferrous metals from the solid waste. The customization and universality requirements for eddy current separators have been improved with the increasingly strict environmental protection requirements in various industries and the pursuit of higher economic benefits by enterprises. The low separation efficiency of the small-sized non-ferrous metals and the difficulty in separating between non-ferrous metals are two urgent problems that limit the development of the eddy current separation. The separator structures design, the factors regulation and the core component magnetic roller optimization are the keys to solve problems. Vertical and horizontal eddy current separators are the two main types of permanent magnet eddy current separators in practical applications and reported studies. However, the study and production cost of the eddy current separator are high, and there are few reports on the separator structures in existing studies. There is also a lack of comparative analysis of different applicable conditions for eddy current separators and optimization design of the magnetic roller. This study compared and analyzed the effects of different factors on the vertical and horizontal eddy current separation efficiency, and clarified the advantages and prospects of the vertical eddy current separator in optimizing the separation efficiency between non-ferrous metals. The comparison and multi-objective optimization were conducted on the magnetic rollers to expand the particle size range that can be separated. The separation performance and the economy of the magnetic roller have been improved significantly, and the performance indicators are better than those of existing equipment with the same specifications. The magnetic roller with specific structural parameters has increased eddy current force and magnetic efficiency density by 75.0% and 63.5%, respectively. It is expected to further expand the applicable materials for the eddy current separator.

Manipulation of self-organized multi-vortical states in active magnetic roller suspensions

Ensembles of active magnetic colloids demonstrate complex collective behavior and self-organization when driven out of equilibrium by external magnetic fields. The interplay between magnetic and hydrodynamic interactions often result in spontaneous self-assembly and the emergence of localized vortices in ensembles of ferromagnetic rollers. We report experimental and computational study of the self-organized multi-vortical state in ensembles of magnetic rollers under the imposed external confining potential realized by patterned substrates. We explore the behavior of the system on a substrate patterned with shallow wells ordered in a lattice with square symmetry and lattice spacing smaller than the wells’ diameter. We demonstrate, that ensembles of active magnetic rollers evolve in response to changes in the geometry of the confining lattice from a globally correlated state characterized by anti-ferromagnetic vortex ordering to a state with rapidly changing particle flows and self-organized vortical states with a lattice constant larger than one of the confining pattern. Our experimental observations are accompanied by numerical simulations based on phenomenological coarse grained particle dynamics coupled to Navier–Stokes hydrodynamics in shallow water approximation. The reported results provide insights into the collective behavior of active magnetic rollers under confinement and suggest strategies for the manipulation of collective dynamic states in active magnetic liquids.

Optimal design of a new Halbach array magnetic roller with axial eddy current force

Non-ferrous metal recovery is of great significance to the sustainable development of resources. Small-sized nonferrous metal particles account for a large proportion of nonferrous metals in solid waste, but the recovery efficiency is low. Eddy current separation is an important technology for physical recovery of non-ferrous metals. Optimizing its magnetic roller is extremely important for improving the recovery efficiency and economy of small-sized non-ferrous metals. In this study, COMSOL Multiphysics is used to establish a three-dimensional transient simulation model of the vertical rotary-drum ECS. On the basis of the two-dimensional Halbach array magnetic roll, the magnetic system of the magnetic roll is designed in the axial direction, so that the particles are subjected to the axial eddy current force opposite to the direction of gravity for the first time. This force can slow down the falling velocity of particles, increase the difference in falling trajectory and repulsion distance, improve recovery efficiency. In addition, due to the generation of axial eddy current force, the interlayer dislocation type magnetic roller can achieve the same recovery effect by only using 1/3 of the length of the basic type magnetic roller. Based on the electromagnetic theory and particle dynamics, by comparing the axial magnetic density distribution of different magnetic rollers, the axial eddy current force and the trajectory of non-ferrous metal particles, the generation mechanism of the axial eddy current force and the magnetic system structure that can generate the axial eddy current force are clarified.

Research on Magnetic Rollers for Recovering Non-Ferrous Metals from End-of-Life Vehicles Employing Machine Learning

Recovering copper foil and crushed aluminum from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is a significant issue in the recycling industry. As a key technology for sorting aluminum, copper, and other non-ferrous metals, eddy current separation (ECS) is efficient in isolating the non-ferrous metals according to their different electrical conductivity and density. However, further research is still needed in the separation of large-size copper foil and crushed aluminum from scrapped vehicles. In this study, support vector regression (SVR) and the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) are exploited for the first time to be used in optimizing the Halbach magnetic roller. Firstly, the numerical simulation results are based on the response surface methodology (RSM). Then, the accuracy of four kernel functions employing SVR is compared to select a kernel function. The sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is proposed to optimize the structural parameters of the Halbach magnetic roller, concentrating on the above-selected kernel function. Meanwhile, the parameters are confirmed. Numerical simulation results indicate that machine learning for magnetic roller optimization is feasible.

Research on eddy current and force of non-ferrous metal in eddy current separator

For compensating the gap of present investigations, which did not consider the effect of skin depth before, a novel method is also proposed to obtain the eddy current force. At the beginning, the separating principle of eddy current separator (ECS) is given. Then, based on boundary conditions and the eddy current equations, the internal magnetic flux density, eddy current density and eddy current force density of non-ferrous metal are deduced. By calculating the double integral of eddy current density, the internal eddy current of non-ferrous metal is achieved. The theoretical calculation method (TCM) for solving the eddy current force in the process of non-ferrous metal sorting is proposed. Moreover, to verify the correctness of TCM, taking 24-pole and 30-pole magnetic roller as examples, the finite element models of static and transient magnetic field are established respectively. Additionally, the correctness of TCM is proven by finite element method (FEM) when the x-axis and y-axis component of eddy current force is calculated. At the end, by the theoretical analysis and derivation derived in this paper, based on the relationship between the relative position of N and S poles of the magnetic roller and non-ferrous metal, the internal eddy current force are analyzed by the consistency between the direction of the internal magnetic flux density and the eddy current of non-ferrous metal. The influence of the size relationship between the non-ferrous metal and a single magnetic pole on the separation effect is discussed.

Globally correlated states and control of vortex lattices in active roller fluids

Active fluids demonstrate complex collective behavior and self-organization often resulting in the emergence of localized vortices. We report on a combined experimental and computational study of the spontaneous formation of globally correlated vortex lattices formed in active roller fluids. The vortices are comprised of active ferromagnetic rollers placed on a patterned substrate promoting localization of self-organized vortices in a lattice with square symmetry. Each individual vortex spontaneously selects its chiral state (clockwise or counterclockwise). Nevertheless, confined to a square lattice, an ensemble of interacting active vortices is capable of developing correlations between chiral states of neighboring vortices. We show that such ensembles of active vortices can spontaneously evolve towards a globally correlated state with the antiferromagnetic ordering of their vorticities. We explore the correlations between chiral states of neighboring vortex pairs in response to changes in the geometry of the confining lattice. The results are supported by numerical simulations based on phenomenological coarse grained particle dynamics coupled to shallow water Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics. We show that these ordered vortex lattices formed by magnetic rollers have the ability to self-heal the antiferromagnetic order and stabilize individual vortical states in the activity regimes beyond optimal conditions for the collective vortex states. The results provide insights into the collective behavior of active magnetic roller fluids in the presence of geometrical confinement.

Numerical approach for optimization of magnetic roller and evaluating the performance of permanent magnet roller separator through design of experiment

The present study is focused on numerical analysis of magnetic roller (Mr) using finite element method magnetics (FEMM) software for different magnet disc-to-steel disc (MD-to-SD) width ratios. The numerical (FEMM) results reveal that, the optimized Mr with the MD-to-SD width ratio of 5 mm: 2.5 mm was proved advantageous because of the effective magnetic field (Mf) value of 0.89–2.59 T. The artificial neural network (ANN) modelling technique was used for the prediction analysis of obtained numerical results. Furthermore, by using optimized Mr, the lab-scale permanent magnet roller separator (PMRS) was developed and parametric optimization has been carried out using Taguchi-based L27 orthogonal array design. The significance of parameters on the overall quality of the product has also been evaluated quantitatively by the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. It was found that the belt thickness was the most influential factor in the product of desired Fe grade and recovery %. The obtained regression coefficient (i.e., R2 = 87.13 and 91.69% for Fe grade and Fe recovery %, respectively) and normal probability plot show the highest correlation between the experimented and predicted data. The results suggested that the numerical approach was suitable for designing optimized Mr for the processing of paramagnetic minerals.

Design and fabrication of optimized magnetic roller for permanent roll magnetic separator (PRMS): Finite element method magnetics (FEMM) approach

In the present work, an attempt has been made to develop a PRMS in a cost effective and environmental friendly way through FEMM analysis of magnetic roller (active part of PRMS). The FEMM analysis indicates that, the optimized magnetic roller having magnet-to-steel disk thickness ratio of 5 mm: 2.5 mm was proved to be gainful in beneficiating paramagnetic minerals due to the best magnetic field value from the roller surface that is, 0.89 to 2.59 T. Prediction analysis was performed on FEMM data using artificial neural network (ANN) modelling technique. Further, the design calculations of lab scale PRMS in terms of power requirements and belt tensions were addressed. The fabricated PRMS was tested on paramagnetic mineral (hematite ore) assayed 51.24% of Fe, 10.20% of SiO2, and 2.98% of Al2O3 for different roller speeds and the belt thickness. The result showed that, at 0.5 mm belt thickness with 180 rpm roller speed the fabricated lab scale PRMS works well in terms of improvement in the Fe content up to 59.5% at the concentrate along with the Fe recovery of 71.41%. The obtained results suggest that, the FEMM analysis is more suitable to optimize the effective magnetic roller for the PRMS.

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ РАБОТЫ ТОРМОЗНЫХ МАГНИТНЫХ РОЛИКОВ ГРАВИТАЦИОННЫХ РОЛИКОВЫХ КОНВЕЙЕРОВ

One of the main elements of safe operation of gravity conveyors used in gravity racks for pallets is the brake roller. The most promising design is a brake roller of magnetic (eddy current) type. A mathematical model of the process of moving pallets on a magnetic brake roller is developed. The equation of the speed of movement of the pallets on the brake magnetic roller obtained. The main parameter that determines the braking functions of the brake magnetic roller, and therefore the speed of movement of the pallet on the gravity roller conveyor is the coefficient of magnetic viscosity. A comparative experimental evaluation of the magnetic viscosity coefficient of eddy-current brakes of two designs - disk and centrifugal - has been carried out. It has been established that the coefficient of magnetic viscosity for both designs of brakes decreases with an increase in the air gap between the conductive body and the magnets when the magnets are placed on one and on both sides of the conductive body, and this dependence is exponential; for a disc brake, when magnets are placed on both sides of a conductive body, 2.5-3 times more than with a magnet located on one side of the disc; for a centrifugal brake when magnets are placed on both sides of a conducting body, 4-4.5 times less compared to a conducting body in the form of a disc with magnets on both sides and 1.5-2 times less than a conducting body in the form of a disc with a magnet one side.

Emergence and dynamics of unconfined self-organised vortices in active magnetic roller liquids.

Actively driven colloids demonstrate complex out-of-equilibrium dynamics often rivaling self-organized patterns and collective behavior observed in living systems. Recent studies revealed the emergence of steady macroscopic states with multiple interacting vortices in an unconfined environment that emerge from the coupling between microscale particle rotation and translation. Yet, insights into the microscopic behavior during the vortex emergence, growth, and formation of a multi-vortical state remain lacking. Here, we investigate in experiments and simulations how the microscale magnetic roller behavior leads to the emergence of seed vortices, their aggregation or annihilation, and the formation of stable large-scale vortical structures. We reveal that the coupling of roller-induced hydrodynamic flows guides the local self-densifications and self-organization of the micro-rollers into seed vortices. The resulting multi-vortical state is sensitive to the external magnetic field amplitude and allows tuning the rollers' number density in a vortex and its characteristic size.

Optimization of Halbach magnetic roller for eddy current separation based on the response surface method and multi-objective genetic algorithm

Performance optimization of the magnetic roller of eddy current separator is an issue of great significance in the recycling industry. In this study, the Halbach array is proposed for the first time to be used in the eddy current separator. And the new concepts of area field intensity and magnet efficiency density are proposed to quantitatively evaluate the magnetic field intensity around the magnetic roller surface and the utilization efficiency of the magnet respectively. Then the effects of various structural parameters of the Halbach magnetic roller on the area field intensity and magnet efficiency density were systematically investigated by employing finite element analysis and response surface methodology. The results showed that the regression models of the area field intensity (R2=0.9846, Pred.R2=0.9420) and magnet efficiency density (R2=0.9946, Pred.R2=0.9782) are extremely significant and have good prediction capability. The magnetic roller can form a stronger magnetic field by selecting a larger magnetic block, and the utilization efficiency of the magnet is higher when the magnetic block’s shape tends to be flat or has larger curvature. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization model with the area field intensity, magnet efficiency density, and magnetic pole number is established, and a multi-objective genetic algorithm is applied to get the optimal combinations of various structural parameters. It was found that the points of the Pareto-optimal solution are concentrated on a spatial surface, which reflects the trade-off relationship among the three objectives. It also shows that the performance parameters of many Pareto-optimal solutions are superior to that of previous studies and the eddy current separators found in the vicinity. The proposed method framework and the results are useful for the design and optimization of the magnetic roller, which will improve the separation efficiency of eddy current separation.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE MOTION PALLET PROCESS ON BRAKE MAGNETIC TYPE ROLLER

Introduction. One of the main elements of the safe operation of gravity roller conveyors used in pallet racks is a brake roller. The most promising design is the brake roller magnetic (eddy current) type. The operation principle of such rollers is based on the laws of electromagnetic induction and involves the braking of a conductor moving in a magnetic field, due to the interaction of eddy currents (or Foucault currents) arising in the volume of the conductor with an external magnetic field. However, in the market of warehouse shelving equipment, brake magnetic rollers are not widely used due to their high cost, which is primarily due to the lack of domestic designs and methods for their calculation. The aim of the work is to develop a mathematical model of the moving pallets process on a magnetic type brake roller.Materials and methods. The paper presented the theoretical study results on the development of a mathematical model of the moving pallets process on a magnetic type brake roller, described in works on centrifugal friction rollers and eddy current brake devices.Results. The main parameter determining the functions of the brake magnetic roller and hence the speed of the pallet along the gravity roller conveyor is a magnetic viscosity coefficient. The speed dependence of the pallets on the brake magnetic roller for various values of a magnetic viscosity coefficient is determined, its analysis is carried out.Conclusions. A mathematical model of the moving pallets process on a brake magnetic roller is developed. The movement speed equation of the pallets on the brake magnetic roller is obtained. For a reasonable choice of the design parameters of the magnetic brake roller, experimental studies are required to determine a magnetic viscosity coefficient.

ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ВИХРЕТОКОВОГО ТОРМОЖЕНИЯ ПРИМЕНИТЕЛЬНО К ГРАВИТАЦИОННЫМ РОЛИКОВЫМ КОНВЕЙЕРАМ

One of the main elements of safe operation of gravity conveyors used in gravity racks for pallets is the brake roller. The most promising design is a brake roller of magnetic (eddy current) type. A mathematical model of the process of moving pallets on a magnetic brake roller is developed. The equation of the speed of movement of the pallets on the brake magnetic roller obtained. The main parameter that determines the braking functions of the brake magnetic roller, and therefore the speed of movement of the pallet on the gravity roller conveyor is the coefficient of roller, experimental studies have been carried out to determine the magnetic viscosity coefficient. It was found that the coefficient of magnetic viscosity decreases with increasing air gap between the conductive body and the permanent magnets, and this dependence has a power-law character; decreases by 10... 25% with increasing speed of the conductive body; independent of changes in the distance between the centers of the conductive body and the permanent magnet; decreases when an edge effect appears in accordance with the air gap.

A new model of trajectory in eddy current separation for recovering spent lithium iron phosphate batteries

Eddy current separation (ECS) is an environment-friendly technology for separating nonferrous metallic particles whose size was from 2 mm to 10 mm. No wastes are generated in ECS. ECS quality of nonferrous metals from solid wastes is rather low in the production practice of spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries recovering. Repeating separation even manual sorting is required in the production. The traditional method of falling point prediction based on eddy current mechanics uses equivalent acceleration to replace separation motion curves. These curves have low precision and are unsuitable for predicting the motion trajectory of small particle size of sorted materials. In this work, eddy current separation of positive and negative plates in a crushed product of spent lithium iron phosphate battery is used as an example to establish the force and kinematics models of different materials in the eddy current separation. An iterative method, rather than average speed method, is used to improve the accuracy of the model. Displacement interval replaces disengagement angle as a separating index to improve the model’s intuitiveness and practical guidance. In the range of 2–20 mm, test results are consistent with simulation results. The copper and aluminium foils at a magnetic roller speed of 800r/min can be separated to a maximum particle size ratio of 1.72, and the maximum particle size ratio of copper and positive electrode sheets can be large. This paper provided an environmental-friendly and effective technology for separating nonferrous metals from crushed spent LFP batteries.

Control of Magnetic Roller Robot with High Carrying Capacity in Climbing a Wall

Control of Magnetic Roller Robot with High Carrying Capacity in Climbing a Wall

Diffusive ferromagnetic roller gas.

An ensemble of actively rotating ferromagnetic particles is used to realize an active roller gas. Here, we investigate the diffusive properties of such a gas in experiments and simulations. We reveal that ferromagnetic rollers demonstrate a normal (Fickian) diffusion with a characteristic linear growth of the mean-squared displacement, while statistics of displacements stay non-Gaussian. At short times the system has a bimodal distribution of the displacements that transitions with time to a quasi-Gaussian distribution (Gaussian core with overpopulated tails) for a range of studied particle number densities. Inert particles introduced into the active roller gas exhibit similar diffusive behavior. The results provide insights into diffusive properties of active colloidal systems with activity originating from spinning degrees of freedom.

Gas‐assisted low‐field magnetic separation for large scale continuous magnetic bio‐separation process

In this study, the gas‐assisted low‐field magnetic separation (GAMS) was proposed for continuous large‐scale magnetic bio‐separation process. Magnetic recovery processes in selective separation of binary mixed proteins by magnetic microspheres were selected as a model. Basing on magnetic recovery efficiency of the batch GAMS for this model, the continuous GAMS with an amplifying small pilot scale was further researched. The continuous throughput of GAMS for adsorption, washing, and desorption step reached 12 L/h, 12 L/h, and 18 L/h with an adsorbent recovery above 95%, respectively. Furthermore, magnetic particles via the top magnetic roller could be well‐separated from free proteins with good floatability via the bottom outlet of flotation column, and bubbling operation did not cause the significant denaturation of target protein. Compared with classic high gradient magnetic separation, GAMS had the advantages of easy scale‐up, easy continuous operation, and low‐cost, showing great potential for large‐scale magnetic bio‐separation process. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 65: 175–183, 2019

Manipulation of emergent vortices in swarms of magnetic rollers

Active colloids are an emergent class of out-of-equilibrium materials demonstrating complex collective phases and tunable functionalities. Microscopic particles energized by external fields exhibit a plethora of fascinating collective phenomena, yet mechanisms of control and manipulation of active phases often remains lacking. Here we report the emergence of unconfined macroscopic vortices in a system of ferromagnetic rollers energized by a vertical alternating magnetic field and elucidate the complex nature of a magnetic roller-vortex interactions with inert scatterers. We demonstrate that active self-organized vortices have an ability to spontaneously switch the direction of rotation and move across the surface. We reveal the capability of certain non-active particles to pin the vortex and manipulate its dynamics. Building on our findings, we demonstrate the potential of magnetic roller vortices to effectively capture and transport inert particles at the microscale.