Chapter 5
Development of a Dynamic-Physical
Process Model for Sieving
Darius Markauskas and Harald Kruggel-Emden
Abstract For a broad range of applications sieving/screening is well suited to separate bulk materials according to particle sizes. In the treated bulk materials particles frequently prevail in broad size distributions, with non-spherical shape and
sometimes even under moist conditions, complicating the separation process. Therefore, it is inevitable to gain a deeper understanding of the subprocesses of screening (size based stratification, particle passage through the screen surface and possible transport along the screen) under the aforementioned conditions. To gain this
knowledge, detailed particle-based simulation approaches like the discrete element
method (DEM) are available. Based on the latter method, discontinuous and continuous screening as well as its subprocesses are investigated. Therein, different screen
geometries and characteristics are considered along with various mechanical excitations applying model and real particle shapes first under dry conditions and later
under the influence of various liquid amounts. In order to perform reliable DEM
screening simulations, the exact determination of particle properties like size, shape,
material and contact parameters is essential, which is required in advance of the
simulations. Besides the DEM, the integral outcome of screening can be represented
by various phenomenological process models. Usually, the material-, operating-,
and apparatus-specific parameters of the latter process models are empirically determined by experiments, whereas, here, the parameters for screening process models
are directly obtained from DEM simulations, which allows their benchmarking under
defined conditions. Additionally, suitable process models are successfully extended
to represent screening processes under the presence of moisture.
1 Introduction
In mechanical process engineering, materials preparation and energy technology,
it is often required to classify disperse solid systems according to their particle
sizes and shapes or to separate out strongly under- or oversized material from the
D. Markauskas · H. Kruggel-Emden (B)
Chair of Mechanical Process Engineering and Solids Processing,
Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
e-mail: kruggel-emden@tu-berlin.de
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. Heinrich (ed.), Dynamic Flowsheet Simulation of Solids Processes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45168-4_5
141
Development of a Dynamic-Physical
Process Model for Sieving
Darius Markauskas and Harald Kruggel-Emden
Abstract For a broad range of applications sieving/screening is well suited to separate bulk materials according to particle sizes. In the treated bulk materials particles frequently prevail in broad size distributions, with non-spherical shape and
sometimes even under moist conditions, complicating the separation process. Therefore, it is inevitable to gain a deeper understanding of the subprocesses of screening (size based stratification, particle passage through the screen surface and possible transport along the screen) under the aforementioned conditions. To gain this
knowledge, detailed particle-based simulation approaches like the discrete element
method (DEM) are available. Based on the latter method, discontinuous and continuous screening as well as its subprocesses are investigated. Therein, different screen
geometries and characteristics are considered along with various mechanical excitations applying model and real particle shapes first under dry conditions and later
under the influence of various liquid amounts. In order to perform reliable DEM
screening simulations, the exact determination of particle properties like size, shape,
material and contact parameters is essential, which is required in advance of the
simulations. Besides the DEM, the integral outcome of screening can be represented
by various phenomenological process models. Usually, the material-, operating-,
and apparatus-specific parameters of the latter process models are empirically determined by experiments, whereas, here, the parameters for screening process models
are directly obtained from DEM simulations, which allows their benchmarking under
defined conditions. Additionally, suitable process models are successfully extended
to represent screening processes under the presence of moisture.
1 Introduction
In mechanical process engineering, materials preparation and energy technology,
it is often required to classify disperse solid systems according to their particle
sizes and shapes or to separate out strongly under- or oversized material from the
D. Markauskas · H. Kruggel-Emden (B)
Chair of Mechanical Process Engineering and Solids Processing,
Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
e-mail: kruggel-emden@tu-berlin.de
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. Heinrich (ed.), Dynamic Flowsheet Simulation of Solids Processes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45168-4_5
141