Results of experimental researches on definition of power on the screw conveyer with elastic sectional working surface

Abstract

Screw conveyors are widely used during the transportation of grain, seed materials, and granulated mineral fertilizers. However, when moving agricultural materials, there is a significant damage to them, due-to the ingress of particles in the gap between the surface of the screw rotation and the stationary inner surface of the casing. This fact causes the damage to the materials, as well as the increase of energy costs for the transportation process. The choice of optimal modes of screw conveyors operation, rational structural, kinematic, technological and dynamic parameters of the working bodies, changes in the value of the gap between the screw periphery and the surface of the guide housing, depending on the geometric and rheological parameters of the bulk material, the application of different profiles of the outer of the screw surfaces cannot fully solve this problem. The purpose of this study is to develop a new screw design with a sectional elastic screw surface and to establish a power definition for a drive of a screw conveyor with a sectional elastic working surface when transporting agricultural materials, depending on the speed of the screw, the angle of its inclination to the horizon, and the size of the gap between the inner surface of the casing and the outer surface of the elastic screw. The stand for conducting researches on determination of the consumed power for the drive of a screw conveyor with a sectional elastic working surface is presented. The optimum parameters and operating modes of the conveyor are defined. The results of experimental studies of this screw conveyor are analyzed, which allow estimating the intensity of influence of this or that parameter on the value of the consumed power on the machine.