Mastering Stratification to Increase Productivity
Mastering the Phenomenon
Aggregate and mining producers are likely familiar with the concept of stratification, a natural phenomenon vital to their material screening productivity. Stratification is the process by which vibration in a bed of material — in our case material passing over screen media — causes coarse material to rise to the top and fine material to fall to the bottom.
Stratification is essential for effective screening. In fact, increased stratification leads to a greater quantity of fine material passing through the open area of the screen media, increasing the effective capacity of the machine. It helps prevent common screening challenges, like blinding, pegging, limited throughput and increased downtime for frequent replacement needs.
Mastering the Phenomenon
Wise producers know that stratification is one of their best weapons against these challenges, offering a cleaner retained product, greater efficiency, and ultimately higher profits. At MAJOR, we engineered our unique FLEX-MAT® high-vibration wire screen with this in mind. Our screens are designed with independently vibrating wires, allowing the wires to vibrate along the full length of the screen.
One of the goals behind this design is to increase vibration frequency, which in turn accelerates stratification. The vibration of screen media is primarily induced by the media bed. A typical vibrating screen runs at between 600 and 1,200 strokes per minute, sometimes as high as 4,200 for high-frequency equipment. Because FLEX-MAT wire screens vibrate independent of the screen, the vibrating effect is magnified — reaching frequencies of 6,000 to 10,000 cycles per minute.
Don’t miss that stat. That’s up to 13 times greater than the vibration of a standard screen box.
This enhanced vibration gives producers reliable productivity from their screens, among other benefits we’ll mention.
What’s the payoff?
Achieving higher vibration frequency and accelerated stratification sounds impressive, but what do mining and aggregate producers really get out of it? Here are a few benefits your operation can see from the high-vibration FLEX-MAT design.
Significantly improved production. Mining and mineral producers have shown documented increase in production with FLEX-MAT wire screens — as much as 40% greater in many different materials, including various rock types, salt, and coal. The added vibration moves fines through the screen faster, allowing more tons per hour on the machine.
Cleaner retained product. The FLEX-MAT design achieves maximum throughput thanks to better material-to-screen contact. High stratification and a wider material spread result in a high-quality retain product with no carryover. This means producers can, in some cases, screen their material dry, thus lowering their total water consumption and eliminating the need for water treatment.
Longer wear life. Woven wire and some self-cleaning screen media designs have shorter lifespans due to cross wires that inevitably see more wear over time. FLEX-MAT screens completely eliminate this issue, enjoying up to a 5x longer wear life than woven wire screens. This extends service intervals and allows producers to reduce the number of profit-reducing shutdowns needed to keep their operation running at peak efficiency.
Contact your local MAJOR dealer to learn more about the FLEX-MAT high-vibration wire screen that can make you the master of stratification and take your production to maximum efficiency.