Mechanical Operations

by
Dr. D Jaya Prasanna Kumar
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
RAMAIAH Institute of Technology, Bangalore
Email: jp@msrit.edu
 Schedule

Day/Time Time Task planned

Monday 9.00 a.m. to 09.55 a.m. & Lecture
01.45 a.m. to 2.40 p.m.
Tuesday 9.00 a.m. to 09.55 a.m. & Lecture
01.45 a.m. to 2.40 p.m.
Credits: 3(L):0(T):0(P)

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Grading
Component Breakup

Test/Midterm 30%
Assignment 05%
Quiz 12%
Regularity (>95 % Attendance) 03%
SEE 50%

Total 100 %

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Teaching approach and Expectations
❖ I expect your active and constructive participation in the course
 Ask questions whenever something is not clear
 Discuss and help among yourself to understand the course content
 Perform all the assigned tasks on time
 Be punctual and disciplined to classes
 Be courteous to everyone around you
 Provide me suggestions/feedback to improve the course delivery and
content
❖ Class discussions and student participation are encouraged as
much as possible, in and out of the classroom other
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP Life's Inspirational Advices: Characteristics of a disciplined person
 Course Outlines
Image source: https://www.thyssenkrupp-
❖Particle Technology Screening Equipment
industrial-solutions.com/

❖Size reduction and Equipment for size reduction

❖Flow of fluid past immersed bodies and
Motion of particles through immersed bodies
❖Sedimentation and Filtration
❖Agitation and Mixing
Image source: https://www.beidoou.com/
Size reduction Equipment

Image source: https://www.beidoou.com/ Fluidization

Filtration Mixing
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Motivation, Objective , and Approach
❖ Majority of chemical manufacturing deals with small particles
➢ Catalysts, pigments, fertilizers, cements, ceramics and pharmaceuticals are
currently manufactured in particulate forms
❖ Proper Design and Handling of fine particles
➢ Identify important physical mechanisms occurring in processes involving particles
➢ Discuss unit operation & its role in Chemical industries, characteristics of
particulate solids, Principles of size reduction, particle dynamics and separation
➢ Formulate and solve mathematical descriptions of such processes
❖ Approach?
 We will learn in this course

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Motivation, Objective , and Approach
❖ Majority of chemical manufacturing deals with small particles
➢ Catalysts, pigments, fertilizers, cements, ceramics and pharmaceuticals are
currently manufactured in particulate forms
❖ Proper Design and Handling of fine particles
➢ Identify important physical mechanisms occurring in processes involving particles
➢ Discuss unit operation & its role in Chemical industries, characteristics of
particulate solids, Principles of size reduction, particle dynamics and separation
 Particle
➢ Formulate
Technology
and solve mathematical descriptions of such processes
 Approach?
❖ Size reduction & Equipment for size reduction
 Flow
 Weofwill
fluid pastinimmersed
learn this coursebodies & motion of particles in immersed bodies
 Sedimentation and Filtration
 Agitation and Mixing
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Mechanical Operations?
❖ Unit operations that involve physically changing of a material
➢ Unit-1:
Particle Technology: Particle shape, particle size, different ways of expression of particle size,
shape factor, sphericity, mixed particles size analysis, screens – ideal and actual screens, Tyler
series, differential and cumulative size analysis, effectiveness of screen, specific surface of
mixture of particles, number of particles in a mixture, standard screens industrial screening
equipment, motion of screen, grizzly, gyratory screen, vibrating screen, trommels.

Petroleum(Crude Oil)

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Mechanical Operations?
❖ Unit operations that involve physically changing of a material
 The branch of science and engineering dealing with the practice, description and
study of the processing, handling, characterization, conversion and use of wide variety
of particulate material both wet or drying in sizes ranging from micron to centimeters,
based on the general theory concerned with the physical property of finely divided
substances including powders, crystalline solids, granules, dispersion, slurries and
pastes
Therefore the mechanical operation is a multidisciplinary field including materials science,
environmental, biomedical, aerospace, mechanical and agricultural engineering, chemistry,
microbiology and cell science, pharmacy and medicine
❖ Unit-1: Particle Technology: Particle shape, particle size, different ways of expression of particle
size, shape factor, sphericity, mixed particles size analysis, screens – ideal and actual screens,
Tyler series, differential and cumulative size analysis, effectiveness of screen, specific surface of
mixture of particles, number of particles in a mixture, standard screens industrial screening
equipment, motion of screen, grizzly, gyratory screen, vibrating screen, trommels.
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Mechanical Operations?
❖ Unit operationsThreshing
that involve
process physically changing of a material
 The branch of science and engineering dealing with the practice, description and
study of the processing, handling, characterization, conversion and use of wide variety
of particulate material both wet or drying in sizes ranging from micron to centimeters,
based on the general theory concerned with the physical property of finely divided
substances including powders, crystalline solids, granules, dispersion, slurries and
pastes
Therefore the mechanical operation is a multidisciplinary field including materials science,
environmental, biomedical, aerospace, mechanical and agricultural engineering, chemistry,
microbiology and cell science, pharmacy and medicine
❖ Unit-1: Particle Technology: Particle shape, particle size, different ways of expression of particle
size, shape factor, sphericity, mixed particles size analysis, screens – ideal and actual screens,
Tyler series, differential and cumulative size analysis, effectiveness of screen, specific surface of
mixture of particles, number of particles in a mixture, standard screens industrial screening
equipment, motion of screen, grizzly, gyratory screen, vibrating screen, trommels.
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Equivalent diameter
❖ Particle diameter
 Is a quantitative measure of the particle size and it should be used with caution

 Equivalence of size means that the “diameter assigned to an irregularly shaped

particle is the same diameter as that of a sphere which behaves identically when both
are exposed to the same process”
 Equivalenting the irregular particle to sphere particle

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Sieve analysis
❖ Particle size distribution (PSD) is done by using Sieves
➢ Particles must be separated for their size before for the specific application
➢ Here particles are separated using the size of the sieves
 Sieves are made of wire mesh cloth, the wire diameter and
interspacing is clearly specified
➢ The openings are usually square, known as aperture
➢ Screens are usually measure by mesh number
 Number of openings per linear inch
 10 openings per inch is called 10 mesh screen
 Higher the mesh number, smaller the aperture
 British standard screens(BSS), American standard screen
 (ASTM &
 Tyler)

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Sieve analysis
➢ Phosphor bronze wire, sometimes Brass or mild steel
➢ We have maintain Standard screen interval between test screens
➢ Internationally accepted screen interval is 21/4 i.e., 1.189
➢ Sieve analysis : Over sized (+), and undersized (-)

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Particle size distribution
❖ Distribution of data
➢ represented by differential form (frequency) or Integral form (cumulative)
 Differential or Frequency

 Integral or cumulative form

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Particle size distribution
❖ Distribution of data
➢ represented by differential form (frequency) or Integral form (cumulative)
 Differential or Frequency

 Integral or cumulative form

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Particle size distribution
❖ PSD is used to calculate Particle size, specific surface area, particle
population of a mixture
➢ Either of methods can be used for the above calculations
➢ Methods based on cumulative is more precise
 Assumption that all particles in a single fraction are equal in size is not needed
➢ Specific surface of mixture

➢ Average particle size

 Volume surface mean diameter (𝐷𝑠 )
 Arithmetic mean diameter (𝐷𝑁 )
 Mass mean diameter (𝐷𝑤 )
 Volume mean diameter (𝐷𝑣 )

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Particle size distribution
❖ Number if particles in the mixture

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Mechanical separations
❖ Separations are extremely important in Chemical Manufacture
➢ Processing equipment: Involve separation of one phase or material from another
➢ Separations are divided into two classes
 Diffusional Operations & Mechanical operations
❖ Mechanical Separations: Process of separating heterogenous mixtures
➢ This technique based on physical differences between the particles such as size, shape,
and density
➢ Also to separate solids from gases, liquid droplets from gases, solids from solids, and
solids from liquids
➢ Two general methods are used: sieve, septum, or membrane & density
 Retains one component and allows other components to pass
➢ Utilization of difference in the rate of sedimentation of particles as they move
through liquid or gas

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screening
❖ Screening based on the size only (not on shape and density)
➢ In industrial screening, the feed is dropped against screening surface
➢ A single screen, separate a feed into two fractions
 Undersize(fines) pass through screen openings
 Over size (Tails ) retain on the screens
➢ Materials processed through series of screens
 Separated into fractions of various sizes
➢ Mostly screening is done on dry basis
➢ Screens are made of: Woven wire, silk, plastic cloth,
metal bars, perforated plates
➢ Commonly used mesh sizes: 4 in to 400 mesh (37 m), and 1 m are available
➢ Very Fine particles are separated by other methods

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screening
❖ Screening based on the size only (not on shape and density)
➢ In industrial screening, the feed is dropped against screening surface
➢ A single screen, separate a feed into two fractions
 Undersize(fines) pass through screen openings
 Over size (Tails ) retain on the screens
➢ Materials processed through series of screens
 Separated into fractions of various sizes
➢ Mostly screening is done on dry basis
➢ Screens are made of: Woven wire, silk, plastic cloth,
metal bars, perforated plates
➢ Commonly used mesh sizes: 4 in to 400 mesh (37 m), and 1 m are available
➢ Very Fine particles are separated by other methods

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screening Equipment
❖ Many Screening equipment are available for variety of purposes
➢ Usually separated by gravity and sometimes by centrifugal force
➢ Coarse particles drop through large openings on stationary surface
➢ Fine particles on the screen must be agitated
 Shaking, gyrating, or vibrating it mechanically, electrically

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Material Balance for Screens
❖ Consider F, D , and B are the mass flow rates of feed, overflow, and underflow
➢ xF, xD, and XB are the mass fraction of material A in the above streams
➢ 1- xF, 1-xD, and 1-XB are mass fraction of material B in the above streams
❖ Overall material balance is
F = D +B ----(1)
➢ The material A in the feed must be available in the other streams also
F xF = D xD +B XB---- (2)
➢ Elimination of B from equation (1) and (2)
𝐷 𝑥𝐹 −𝑥𝐵
=
𝐹 𝑥𝐷 −𝑥𝐵
➢ Elimination of D from equation (1) and (2)
𝐵 𝑥𝐷 −𝑥𝐹
=
𝐹 𝑥𝐷 −𝑥𝐵
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Screen Effectiveness
❖ The effectiveness of a screen is a measure of success of the screen closely
separating undersize and oversize materials
❖ Common measure of effectiveness of a screen is ratio of oversize material to
that the material present in the feed

❖ Similarly for undersize

❖ Overall effectiveness

❖ Replacing D/F and B/F

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screen Effectiveness

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screening Equipment
❖ Many Screening equipment are available for variety of purposes
➢ Usually separated by gravity and sometimes by centrifugal force
➢ Coarse particles drop through large openings on stationary surface
➢ Fine particles on the screen must be agitated
 Shaking, gyrating, or vibrating it mechanically, electrically

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screening Equipment
❖ Stationary screens and Grizzlies
➢ Grid of parallel metal bars set: an inclined stationary frame
➢ Plates are parallel and slope are equal
➢ Coarse material falls on surface, large chunks collected
➢ Small material collected in separate collector tails
➢ Bars are wider at the top
➢ Spacing is 2 to 8 inch ( 50 - 200 mm)
➢ Stationary inclined woven-metal separates 0.5 to 4 inch
(12-100 mm)
➢ They are effective only with the very coarse free-flowing
solids with very few fine particles

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Screening Equipment
❖ Vibrating screens
❖ One of the popularly used in chemical industry
➢ They handle large quantity, high efficiency, and accuracy
➢ Handle range of materials from 480 to 4 mesh
➢ The screens are set in multi-deck fashion (single to four)
 Either arranged horizontally or inclined
 Steeper inclination results in optimum separation
➢ The vibrations are due to mechanical or electrical action
➢ Speed of vibration varies from 15000 to 72000 rpm
➢ The inclination is at an angle of 20 to 40 °
 Provides sufficient time for particles to move downward
➢ Benefits: (1) No dead zones (2) Smooth operation
(3) Exact Sizing (4) High output (5) Simple (6) maintenance
(7) Less energy consumption (8) high screen efficiency
(9) Long life
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Screening Equipment
❖ Gyrating screens (boxed)
❖ Heavy duty screens
➢ Screens one above the other at an angle of 16 and 30 ° with
➢ Feed mixture dropped at the highest point (Horizontal)
➢ Gyrated in a vertical plane about horizontal axis
➢ Rate of gyration is 600 to 1800 rpm
➢ Screens are rectangular, and large 1.5 by 4 ft. to 5 by 14 ft.
➢ Oversize particles fall from lower end and fines pass through
➢ Finer screens are gyrated at feed end in horizontal plane
➢ Precisely the fine particles are pushed by the larger particles
➢ Usually multiple compartments, rubbers balls are held
 Balls strike the screen surface and free the openings
 Dry, hard, rounded usually pass through
 Elongated, sticky, flaky, soft materials do not
➢ Blinded: A screen plugged with solid particles
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
 Screening Equipment
❖ Centrifugal sifter (Trommels)
➢ Screen is a horizontal cylinder made of cloth, plastic
➢ High speed helical paddles on central shaft impel solids against
➢ Fines pass through and oversized conveyed as discharge screen
➢ Plastic screens elongate during the operation
 Results in minute changes in the openings dimensions that
prevent clogging or binding
 Sometimes brushes attached to paddles enhances the efficiency

A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP

 Mechanical Operations?
❖ Unit operations that involve physically changing of a material
 The branch of science and engineering dealing with the practice, description and
study of the processing, handling, characterization, conversion and use of wide variety
of particulate material both wet or drying in sizes ranging from micron to centimeters,
based on the general theory concerned with the physical property of finely divided
substances including powders, crystalline solids, granules, dispersion, slurries and
pastes

❖ Unit-1: Particle Technology: Particle shape, particle size, different ways of expression of particle
size, shape factor, sphericity, mixed particles size analysis, screens – ideal and actual screens,
Tyler series, differential and cumulative size analysis, effectiveness of screen, specific surface of
mixture of particles, number of particles in a mixture, standard screens industrial screening
equipment, motion of screen, grizzly, gyratory screen, vibrating screen, trommels.
A course on Mechanical Operations: by JP
Thank
You