FACTORS THAT AFFECT SCREENING EFFICIENCY IN MINING

December 7, 2016

It’s difficult to build a technologically advanced machine when that device is expected to function in a mechanically abrasive setting. Down on the mining industries’ toughest screening decks, within one of the most abrasive processing systems in existence, that’s exactly what’s expected. Of course, it helps if we know what factors affect screening efficiency. Let’s check out the workflow-impeding geological culprits in this tough aggregate screening scenario.

AGGREGATE SIZE AND COMPOSITION

The rough edge of a quartz shard tears at the screening material, but the tough engineering plastic resists its abrasive edges. Fine-grained powdery matter funnels its way through the apertures aligned on the deck plate, but they don’t widen or lose their dimensional outlines, again because of the rugged materials used in the screen media.

VOLUMETRIC FEED RATE

This is the second half of the feed stream’s attacking knife-edge. The spearhead is formed by the sharp rocky matter, just carved from the mineral face, but the driving shaft of that spear is created by the feed rate. This energetic flow property accelerates formerly harmless rocks until they become spiky missiles. If small, blunted loads of fast-moving matter can become lethal weapons, imagine how much more dangerous an already serrated edge will become.

SCREEN ORIENTATION

Moving past the abrasive nature of the mined load, we arrive at the design factors that affect screening efficiency. The angle of entry, the way the rocky particles first contact the sorting media will directly influence the operational profile of the sorting deck. Essentially, the angular plane impacts the approach angle of the rock particles, for the apertures lining the screen will seem narrow if the rocky matter doesn’t land perpendicular to the screen surface. Vibratory mechanisms help correct this shortcoming.

VIBRATORY EFFICIENCY

A non-vibrating deck has one chance to present a single particle to the sized holes on the screening deck. That’s, frankly, a very feeble processing setup. Vibrating decks magnify this material presentation factor. The oscillating motors act as an optimized sieving mechanism, but they must be maintained if this efficient movement attribute is to be maximized. Take note, too much vibratory energy will cause the particles to take flight and leave the boundaries of the deck. A balance must be struck.

There are many other factors that affect screening efficiency, but these are considered the classic ones. Wet feeds and dewatering processes will obviously impact efficiency, as will the width of the screening media. The media type accounts for most of these process-debilitating factors, as does a selection process that always sources the toughest, most mechanically adept screening solutions.

 

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