Stepwise shape optimization of the surface of a vibrating screen

Abstract Screening is a technique that is extensively adopted for the separation of discrete materials according to particle characteristics such as size and shape. Wide application of the discrete element method has sparked much research on the vibrating screen, which is a screening apparatus having a specific vibration mode. The shape of the screen surface is a critical factor affecting the sieving performance of the vibrating screen. In this paper, a stepwise optimization method is employed to optimize the screen surface shape of the vibrating screen in discrete element modeling to obtain a high screening efficiency and large processing capacity simultaneously. Adopting this optimization method, a new curved screen with five decks having various inclination angles is presented. Numerical simulations and prototype experiments are conducted to verify the superior sieving performance of the new curved screen. Experimental results clearly show that the new curved screen greatly outperforms three commonly used screens in terms of sieving performance. The conclusions and methodologies of this work will benefit the design and improvement of vibrating screens.