Ad ances in Science and Technology
Resea ch Jou nal
Volume 12, No. 3, Sep embe 2018, pages 143–149
DOI: 10.12913/22998624/94962 Resea ch A icle
OPTIMIZATION OF DOSING TANK EMPTYING USING SPIRAL VIBRATION
Da id Zu o ec1, Jan Necas1, Jan Di is1, Jakub Hlos a1, Ji i Zegzulka1, Ka e ina U bano a2
1 VSB-Technical Uni e si y o Os a a, ENET Cen e, 17. lis opadu 15/2172, 708 33 Os a a-Po uba, Czech
Republic, e-mail: da id.zu o ec@ sb.cz
2 DSD-Dos al, a.s., Bys icka 38, 751 14 D e ohos ice, Czech Republic
ABSTRACT
This a icle add esses he op imiza ion o a dosing ank using a spi al ha monic mo-
ion. The dosing ank is used o asho - e m s o age o cohesi e sand, which is hen
eleased in o a ubula mold. O iginally, a solu ion based on he p inciple o wiping
he ma e ial using o a y blades and b ushes was used o ill he molds. Howe e , his
me hod was no e ec i e enough. This solu ion su e ed om une en dosing as well
as a loss o ma e ial. The mold illing ime anged a ound 20 seconds. Du ing he
cou se o op imiza ion o he dosing ank, a new design o he ank was c ea ed and
ex e nal ene gy in a o m o ha monic spi al ib a ions was in oduced in o he sys-
em. The chosen shape o he ha monic spi al mo ion p o ed o be he mos sui able
o con inuous emp ying o he cohesi e sand om he dosing ank in o he ubula
mold in a e y sho ime. The e was also a signi ican elimina ion o ma e ial losses.
I was de e mined ha he equency o ha monic mo ion a ec s uni o m dispensing
o ma e ial om anks.
Keywo ds: spi al ib a ion, dosing ank, cohesi e sand.
INTRODUCTION
Indus ial en e p ises a e o ced o in es in
he de elopmen o echnology due o echno-
logical ad ances in all disciplines o mechani-
cal enginee ing and e e -inc easing demands o
speedy manu ac u ing p ocesses.When designing
anspo and s o age acili ies, i is app op ia e
o use s udies and knowledge om a ious a eas
o anspo and handling equipmen designed
no only o bulk ma e ials [1, 2, 3]. The p esen
s udy add esses he op imiza ion o emp ying a
dosing de ice designed o he sho - e m s o age
o an exac amoun o cohesi e sand. In gene al,
s o age acili ies such as anks o silos a e used
o hold loose ma e ial in a closed space o he
necessa y amoun o ime. The cons uc ion o he
s o age acili ies is dimensioned acco ding o he
equi ed s o age ime as well as he mechanical
and physical p ope ies o he s o ed bulk ma e-
ials. Mechanical and physical p ope ies signi i-
can ly in luence he beha io o bulk ma e ials
in s o age p ocesses [4, 5, 6]. In ac , nega i e
beha iou such as aul ing a e no uncommon
du ing emp ying anks. The op imal emp ying o
anks equi es knowledge o he ope a ing con-
di ions and de ailed in o ma ion abou he s o ed
ma e ial. This abo e all includes he a o emen-
ioned mechanical and physical p ope ies o he
s o ed ma e ial, he shape and size o he ank, he
hoppe and he discha ge opening. In e ms o he
na u e o he ank emp ying, we dis inguish wo
ways o ma e ial low: mass and co e low. Mass
low is mani es ed by he g adual d aining o ma-
e ial om he ank in o de , in which i was in o-
duced o he ank. To achie e his, an op imal con-
s uc ion design o he s o age de ice is equi ed
depending on he p ope ies o he s o ed ma e ial
[7]. Howe e , in eali y his is o en no achie ed,
and i equi es he use o ex e nal sou ces o en-
Recei ed: 2018.06.29
Accep ed: 2018.08.01
Published: 2018.09.01
Ad ances in Science and Technology Resea ch Jou nal Vol. 12 (3), 2018
144
e gy, such as ib a ions, acous ic wa es o ai
[8, 9, 10]. The co e low is cha ac e ized by he
p inciple ha he ma e ial loaded in he ank i s ,
discha ges las . He e, he ma e ial abo e he dis-
cha ge opening is discha ged i s and he ma e ial
adjacen o he walls o he ank emains s ill, c e-
a ing so-called “dead zones”. The ma e ial loca -
ed in such “dead zones” o en adhe es o he walls
o he ank due o longe s a ic pe sis ence, which
is pe cei ed as a ailu e s a e [11, 12]. O he ail-
u e s a es including s a ic aul s, ca i ies o un-
nels may also occu in s o age de ices, which all
nega i ely a ec con inuous emp ying. Howe e ,
he ad ancemen o echnology p o ides me hods
such as he Disc e e Elemen Me hod (DEM),
o de ec and moni o ailu e s a es in anspo
and s o age acili ies. The ad an age o using he
DEM simula ion me hod lies in so wa e e i i-
ca ion o planned changes in design o a de ice
being de eloped o op imized [13, 14].
DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT
TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS
Du ing he cou se o his esea ch, an analysis
o he cu en echnology o sand dosing in o u-
bula molds was pe o med. The echnology was
de eloped many yea s ago and i no longe mee s
oday’s equi emen s. The exis ing echnology is
based on he p inciple o wiping sand wi h a o al
dose weigh o 4 kg in o a ubula mold using o-
a y blades and b ushes loca ed in a cubical dosing
ank. Fig. 1 summa izes he dosing me hod in o
h ee s eps: I, II, III. In he i s s ep (I), he dos-
ing ank a i es abo e he pai o openings o he
ubula mold and he discha ge ou le is opened. In
he second s ep (II), he p ocess o ma e ial wip-
ing using a sys em o o a y blades and b ushes is
ini ialized. This p ocess akes place o almos 15
seconds. In he hi d s ep (III), he dosing ank e-
u ns o he illing a ea o s a a new illing cycle.
Du ing he illing o he dosing ank, he ubula
mold is p epa ed o he nex illing cycle.
Howe e , his me hod was no e ec i e
enough as i o en esul ed in une en dosing and
ma e ial loss, as shown in Fig. 1 in s eps (I) and
(III). Fu he mo e, he mold illing ime was no
longe su icien o mee cu en equi emen s
and i was necessa y o p oceed o a comp ehen-
si e op imiza ion o he p ocess. The aim o he
op imiza ion was o ensu e a uni o m illing o
he ubula mold o elimina e ma e ial losses as
well as dec ease he illing ime by wo- hi ds.
In he i s s ep o he op imiza ion, he cu en
s a e was e alua ed while he mechanical and
physical cha ac e is ics o he sand we e mea-
su ed. Based on he da a collec ed abou he p o-
cess and he bulk ma e ial used, he op imiza ion
di ec ion was de e mined. Du ing he cou se o
op imiza ion o he dosing ank, a new design
o he ank was c ea ed and ex e nal ene gy in
a o m o ha monic spi al ib a ions was in o-
duced in o he sys em.
Fig. 1. The p inciple o dosing cohesi e sand in o ubula molds [15]
Fig. 2. A sample o sand used du ing he expe imen
145
Ad ances in Science and Technology Resea ch Jou nal Vol. 12 (3), 2018
MECHANICAL AND PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES OF SAND
In o de o op imize he p ocess o emp ying
he dosing de ice, a sample o he bulk ma e ial
was analyzed. The bulk ma e ial used he e was he
sand used o he p oduc ion o i ings in he
ound y indus y, which is shown in Fig. 2.
Angle o in e nal ic ion φe
The angle o in e nal ic ion φe cha ac e izes
low p ope ies o bulk ma e ials. This includes
mo emen s, esis ances and bonds be ween indi-
idual pa icles. The angle o in e nal ic ion de-
e mines he shea p ope ies o he mass, which
de ine he lowabili y o he sample being exam-
ined. The angle o in e nal ic ion was measu ed
using a ing shea es e Schulze RST-01. Fig. 3
shows he esul s o measu ing he angle o in e -
nal ic ion o he sand (φe = 43°). The dependence
o no mal s ess σ on shea s ess τ is shown as
well. Based on he measu ed alues o he angle
o in e nal ic ion o he sand, i was necessa y o
p o ide mo e ene gy o o e come he in e -pa i-
cle bonds and esis ances.
Wall ic ion angle ϕw
The measu emen o he wall ic ion angle
was pe o med on he Jenike di ec shea es e .
The measu emen p inciple consis s o measu ing
he ime dependence o he shea s ess τ, which
is equi ed o shi bulk ma e ial o e he con ac
ma e ial, while g adually inc easing no mal s ess
σ. The ollowing con ac ma e ials we e used: A)
s ainless s eel shee ; B) Mu eld s anda d “S”
plas ic; C) polyu e hane. The esul s o measu ed
alues o wall ic ion angle ϕw and he wall ic-
ion coe icien μw a e summa ized in a single
g aph, which is shown in Fig. 4. F om a compa i-
son o he esul s o ex e nal ic ion measu ed
on indi idual con ac ma e ials, i is seen ha he
s ainless-s eel shee exhibi ed he lowes esis-
ance o mo emen .
Angle o epose Ψs
The angle o epose was measu ed using a
measu ing s and consis ing o a s eel bowl on
which he ma e ial was g adually ed h ough a
ib a o y eede . The bowl was placed on a o a y
s and ha allowed he pile o be moni o ed om
0° o 360°. The nume ical angle o epose alues
a e shown in Table 1, while Fig. 5 shows g aphi-
cal esul s o he angle o epose measu emen s.
The a e age angle o epose was Ψs = 52.1°. This
implies ha sand is e y cohesi e when illed and
emp ied du ing s o age p ocesses.
Pa icle size dis ibu ion
A CILAS 1190 lase pa icle size analyz-
e was used o g anulome ic analysis o he
Fig. 3. Resul s o in e nal ic ion and lowabili y
measu emen using he RST-01 es e
Fig. 4. Resul s o wall ic ion angle measu emen s
Table 1. The nume ical angle o epose alues
Posi ion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Angle o epose 52.6 53.4 52.4 52.09 52.3 50.2 51.1 51.8
Angle o epose-A g. 52.1
Ad ances in Science and Technology Resea ch Jou nal Vol. 12 (3), 2018
146
sample. Cohe en ligh om low-powe lase
diodes, emi ed a 830 nm wa eleng h, passes
h ough a cu e e con aining a sample o he
analyzed ma e ial dispe sed in he co espond-
ing liquid and he ligh beam issca e ed. The
pa icle size dis ibu ion o sand anges om
1μm o 600 μm, see Figu e 6. Mos pa icles in
he sample anged om 100 μm o 400 μm.
OPTIMIZATION OF DOSING TANK
Based on he measu ed mechanical and
physical p ope ies, sand was added in o a g oup
o cohesi e ma e ials and an ex e nal powe
sou ce was equi ed o uni o m emp ying o
he dosing de ice. Mic o- ib a ions wi h spi-
al pa h oscilla ion we e selec ed as an ex e nal
powe sou ce. The shape o he spi al ib a ion
was achie ed by using a pai o NO12 ib a ion
Fig. 5. Resul s o angle o epose measu emen s
Fig. 6. Resul s o pa icle size dis ibu ion measu emen s
Fig. 7. a) new design o he dosing de ice, b) expe i-
men al s and
a)
b)
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Ad ances in Science and Technology Resea ch Jou nal Vol. 12 (3), 2018
mo o s ins alled on he ib a ing pa and o-
a ed by 90° wi h espec o each o he , see Fig.
7b). Vib a ion mo o s posi ioned his way p o-
ide a combina ion o wo ha monic mo ions:
pa ial o a ion a ound he “Z” axis and pa ial
eed in he “Z” axis. The combina ion o hese
wo mo ions c ea es spi al mic o-oscilla ion.
In his way, he s abili y and symme y o he
o e all assembly du ing g a i a ional emp y-
ing o he dosing ank a e ensu ed. F om he
measu emen o he ex e nal ic ion angle, a
s ainless-s eel shee was chosen o he p oduc-
ion o he dosing ank. Based on a comp ehen-
si e assessmen o he measu ed mechanical
and physical p ope ies o he used sand, a new
shape and size o he ank was designed, and
he minimum dimensions o he discha ge ou -
le we e de e mined, depending on he pa icle
size dis ibu ion o he sand. Figu e 7 shows: a)
new design o a dosing de ice, b) expe imen-
al measu ing s and. The expe imen al measu -
ing s and consis s o he ollowing basic pa s:
1-Fixed ame; 2-Flexible Elemen s 4x; 3-Vi-
b a ing pa including he dosing ank; 4-Vib a-
o mo o s NO12.
EXPERIMENT AND RESULTS
In o de o expe imen ally e i y he unc-
ionali y o he op imized dosing ank, a measu -
ing appa a us was assembled consis ing o he
ollowing: a PC, expe imen al s and, ensome ic
scale and equency con e e . The assembly o
he measu ing appa a us is shown in Figu e 8.
Du ing he expe imen al measu emen s, he e -
ec o ib a ions on he e iciency o emp ying
he dosing ank was assessed. Table 2 shows se -
ings o he d i ing o ce FB depending on he os-
cilla ion equency p oduced by pai o he N012
0.15kW ib a ion mo o s. The o al s i ness em-
ana ing om he ou elas ic elemen s was kp =
123N.mm-1. A 4 kg sand sample was loaded in o
he dosing ank.
Figu e 9 shows he emp ying p ocess o he
dosing ank in a ious ope a ing modes. In he
i s expe imen , he sand beha io una ec ed
by ib a ions was moni o ed. I u ned ou ha
he ma e ial is so cohesi e ha he ank could
no be emp ied by employing only a g a i a-
ional me hod. In he second expe imen , i-
b a ions o 15Hz equency co esponding o
a d i ing o ce o 325N we e used. E en in
his case, he sand could no be emp ied om
he ank and he en i e olume emained in he
ank. A e inc easing he equency o 20Hz,
he sand s a ed o eely low immedia ely
a e opening he discha ge ou le . The emp-
ying p ocess was smoo h wi h only sligh de-
ia ions. Subsequen ly, he ib a ion equency
was se o 25Hz, which co esponds o he d i -
ing o ce o 904N. In his case, he emp ying
was e y smoo h and s able wi hou signs o
impac e ec s. A 30Hz, he e we e signs o
g ea e dynamic e ec s du ing he emp ying
p ocess, which a e undesi able o he ollow-
ing p ocesses. The emp ying ime o he es ed
equencies was a ound 2.5s.
Based on he esul s om he expe imen-
al es s, he inal design o he dosing ank was
c ea ed, and sui able pneuma ic ib a ion d i es
we e selec ed which we e posi ioned 90° ela i e
o each o he . The d i ing o ce o a pai o pneu-
ma ic ib a ion d i es was se o allow he op i-
mal emp ying o he dosing ank. Fig. 10 shows
he inal e sion o he dosing ank design used in
eal ope a ion.
Fig. 8. Assembly o he measu ing appa a us
Table 2. Se ings o he d i ing o ce FB depending
on he oscilla ion equency p oduced by pai o he
N012 0.15kW ib a ion mo o s
F equency
[Hz]
15 20 25 30
Speed
n [ pm]
852 1136 1420 1704
D i ing o ce
FB [N]
325 579 904 1302

Ad ances in Science and Technology Resea ch Jou nal Vol. 12 (3), 2018
148
CONCLUSIONS
The aim o his esea ch was o op imize
he me hod o emp ying a dosing de ice de-
signed o weighing and sho - e m s o age o
sand. Fi s ly, an analysis o he cu en p o-
cess echnology was pe o med. In he ollow-
ing s ep, he mechanical and physical p ope -
ies o he used sand we e measu ed, namely:
angle o ic ion, wall ic ion, angle o e-
pose and pa icle size dis ibu ion. Based on
he measu ed alues, he sand was assessed
as e y cohesi e wi h a pa icle size anging
om 1μm o 600μm. I was ound, ha he
mos sui able con ac ma e ial o he p o-
duc ion o he inne space o he dosing ank
was s ainless s eel, which showed he lowes
esis ance o sand mo emen . On he basis o
he collec ed da a, a new shape and size o he
dosing ank was designed, and he minimum
size o he ou le was de e mined, depending
on he pa icle size dis ibu ion o he sand.
Due o he high cohesion o he sand, i was
necessa y o in oduce ex e nal ene gy o he
sys em. The mos sui able ib a ions o he
p ocess we e selec ed. The shape o he ib a-
ion, in he o m o ha monic spi al mo ion,
p o ed o be he mos sui able o he uni o m
and symme ical discha ge o sand om he
ank. The expe imen al es s showed ha he
op imal d i ing o ce o a pai o ib a ion
d i es was 900N, depending on he weigh
o he ib a ing pa s and he s i ness o he
lexible elemen s. The emp ying ime o he
equi ed olume o sand anged a ound 2.5
seconds. Op imiza ion o he emp ying me h-
od me all equi emen s and was applied o
eal-li e ope a ion.
Acknowledgemen s
This pape was conduc ed wi hin he ame-
wo k o he p ojec LO1404: Sus ainable de-
elopmen o ENET Cen e,p ojec SP2018/47:
Calib a ion and expe imen al de ices o he
esea ch and alida ion o simula ion models
AND p ojec SP2018/132: Resea ch and de el-
opmen o inno a i e anspo equipmen o
e i ica ion DEM me hod in p ocess o bulk
solid anspo a ion.
Fig. 10. Dosing ank design
Fig. 9. The cou se o dosing ank emp ying p ocess
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Ad ances in Science and Technology Resea ch Jou nal Vol. 12 (3), 2018
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