Multi-Lobe Hub Disc for Screening Flat Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current screening devices, such as trommels, vibratory screens, and auger screens, face maintenance hazards and inefficiencies when dealing with wet or stringy materials and large, flat items like corrugated cardboard, leading to reduced performance and increased operational costs due to material buildup and wrapping issues.
Innovation Solution
A multi-lobe hub disc for use in disc screens, featuring a hub with lobes and a helical ridge structure that provides a constant gap width and movement, enhancing material agitation and distribution, thereby improving screening efficiency and reducing maintenance hazards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a disc screen with large opening (approximately two inches) is used to avoid maintenance hazards from stringy material, then material buildup is reduced, but the screen cannot accept material larger than six inches without risking opening coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The screen opening is segmented into multiple smaller openings arranged in a pattern, allowing the screen to process both small stringy materials and large flat materials simultaneously without complete blockage
Solution Approach 2:
The screen transitions from a single-plane opening to a multi-level opening structure with openings at different depths and angles, enabling materials of various sizes to pass through different pathways
2Reliability
If traditional round augers are used in auger screens, then wrapping and plugging is prevented, but no bouncing motion or material agitation occurs, limiting screening efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The auger flights are designed with asymmetric cross-sections featuring flat surfaces and sharp edges instead of traditional round profiles, creating bouncing motion and material agitation while maintaining wrapping prevention
Solution Approach 2:
The auger flights incorporate curved surfaces and angled edges that work together to propel material forward while creating lifting and bouncing actions for enhanced screening efficiency
3Reliability
If a pre-sort conveyor belt is used to remove maintenance hazards before mechanical screening, then material buildup is reduced, but the cost increases due to multiple sorters and safety equipment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The disc screen design enables self-cleaning capabilities through its geometric configuration, where material flow and rotor rotation automatically prevent buildup without requiring external pre-sorting equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The screen openings are pre-configured with specific geometric patterns that prevent material buildup before it occurs, eliminating the need for downstream maintenance interventions
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
A disc for use in a disc screen is disclosed. The disc has a longitudinal axis and includes a hub extending a length along the longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axis is coaxial with the center of the hub, and the hub further includes a hub surface, a major axis defined by a first cross-section taken perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and through the center of the hub, and a minor axis defined by a second cross-section taken perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and through the center of the hub. The first cross-section is longer than the second cross-section, and the first cross-section is substantially orthogonal to the second cross-section. A helical ridge structure extends away from the hub surface and twists at least 360 degrees about the longitudinal axis for the length.