Simulation Study On Granular Material Movement Regularity Of Vibratory Feeder Based On DEM

As the bulk material conveying equipment, the vibratory feeder has been widely applied in metallurgy, coal, chemical industry, construction, machinery manufacturing, and other fields. As the transport medium of vibratory feeder, granular matter shows complex mechanical characteristics and the law of motion under the vibrations, which have great effects on the design of feeder and the feeding process settings, the determination exciter kinetic parameters. With the continuous improvement of industry standard, research on the movement regularities of materials in the vibratory feeder will be emphasized gradually.The conveying process of granular material in the vibratory feeder has been simulated through a 3D discrete element method. And the material conveying speed, and granular flow, accumulation pattern and material mass of participating in vibrations, material filling rate are also analyzed at mesoscopic level. The study shows that in the vibration conveying of coal particles, the velocity of the particle group is distributed along the direction of the transportation and the height. Particle velocity and kinetic energy increased along the direction of transport, and particles in the upper direction are relatively active. Particle group presents a certain flow pattern, and also jumps forward in transporting. The mass of materials is mainly concentrated in the lower of the feed inlet, and the whole is distributed as a "hill shaped". The material mass of participating in vibrations is much greater than the actual material mass in vibration transportations. Material filling rate decreases with the increase of frequency.The influence of various factors on the transport process have been discussed by using the conveying speed. The study shows that in the reasonable range of parameters, the material conveying velocity increases with the increase of frequency, amplitude, vibrating direction angle, but the impact of vibration direction angle is relatively small. Feeding amount does not affect the conveying speed, but affects the material filling rate. The studies in this paper can provide a theoretical reference for understanding the movement regularities of materials, the optimization of feeding process and the selection of kinetic parameters in practical engineering.