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Using Bulk Flow Analyst™, engineers are able to simulate the behavior of a particulate flow system at work and gain insight into the effects that the flow has on the structure.

Bulk Flow Analyst™ enables users to identify issues in a system including spillage from overloading a belt, a lack of adequate mixture or segregation, congestion in a restricted flow stream from overloading or sticky materials, off-center belt loading, and the locations and severity of wear on components in contact with the flow stream.

By virtually prototyping the design with Bulk Flow Analyst™, users can simulate multiple flow conditions, different material characteristics, and variations in the component design. This allows them to fine-tune the flow, components, and material conditions to avoid issues that may not have been discovered until the system was installed and running.

The expense of design changes skyrockets the further along the development process that issues are discovered. Many of the examples shown below demonstrate one or more of the flow issues mentioned above. Unfortunately for most owners of these products, DEM wasn't used until after the design was installed. Thousands of dollars may have been lost in downtime, reductions in flow compared to expected capacity, and/or necessary design changes to resolve the issues.

In this example, two issues were immediately recognized. As material left the rock box at the end of the first conveyor, a portion of it missed the spoon and never made it onto the belt. Additonally, the material on the belt was loaded off-center.
A simple change to the design of the rock box eliminated spillage and improved the off-center loading.



This example demonstrates two belt conveyors feeding into a transfer chute that combines the two materials into one flow. Some spilling is occuring, but for the most part, this design is working at this flow rate.




The issue with this example speaks for itself. While the issue might be obvious, the cause may not be. Is the flow rate too high? Is the exit of the chute too close to the receiving conveyor? Is the receiving conveyor moving too slowly?
Using Bulk Flow Analyst™ these questions can be answered without physically testing the system.



As material flows, the forces applied to the components channelling the flow also change. In the example shown below, the effect of friction and the shifting load within the dump body could significantly alter weight distribution on the vehicle.
Using BFA™ the forces (displayed as color spectra on the dump body surfaces) can be extracted and plotted, enabling the user to determine whether the truck's front tires would leave the ground at any time while dumping.



In the following example, the smaller particles have cohesive properties applied to them. Notice the tendency to stick to each other and the walls of the chute. The significance of these effects are nearly impossible to predict using traditional methods.


 

The following example was created to demonstrate the amount of scatter of particles as they leave a spinning broadcaster. There are two animations back-to-back. The first shows the spinnerin the second one, the "road" has been turned off and velocity vectors are displayed. Striations in the pattern are clearly visible.


 

In the following example, the data being sought was the force necessary to push the flight bar conveyor into the pile of material at a given rate and burden depth.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you improve your designs, and get those bids to keep your company running and thriving.

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