THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON DISKS CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATORS

Abstract

The paper presents an extension of classical thin shell theory to those with moderate thickness, having simplex order h/R ≤ 0.2 ... 0.33. The application of the flexibility matrix method is studied to realise a computerised analysis of centrifugal disks separators for the influence of the central load Fa induced for assembling the bowl and for the critical area junctions. In the first time, the separator's bowl is divided in structural elements; each of the structural elements is at first considered separately and then the global generalised forces and bending moments are obtained from the displacement compatibility conditions at each element junction. Comparative experimental investigations based on recording surface strains at selected locations of the bowl performed with strain gauges reveal a reasonable agreement. The main features of the method as, (1) reasonable accuracy of the results, (2) reasonable positioning of the critical junctions, (3) low computational cost, give a real possibility in the design work.