Sizing

• Sizing is the process of separation of particles

according to their size.
• Screens and sieves are used for sizing process.
• The screen or sieve is a surface with many apertures
or holes, usually with uniform dimensions.
• Particles of different sizes are presented to that
surface .
• The undersize material will pass through and oversize
materials will be retained. Thus the incoming material
is sorted out according to aperture size of the screen.
• Further processing depends on the size of ore.
Sizing
 Sizing
• Various sizing methods are as follows –
- Screening ( Sieving )
- Classification
- Microscopic methods.
• Screening - The crushed or grounded ore is spread
on a mesh of particular aperture size and shape.
• The material gets separated into oversize and
undersize. A size distribution is obtained with
different meshes with decreasing aperture sizes.
• Screening efficiency = Weight of grains of given size
in the screened product / their weight in the
supplied feed.
 Laboratory Sizing
• Material for size analysis is collected from the
crushing section, the grinding section or closed circuit
return/discharge.
• Material from the crushing section - to assess the
work done by the crusher and the work to be done
by the subsequent grinder.
• Material from the mill discharge of grinding section –
to assess the size distribution of discharged particles.
• Material from closed circuit return- to asses sizes of
materials returned for further grinding.
• Material from closed circuit discharge- to assess
whether the valuables are properly liberated for
further concentration.
 Laboratory Sizing
Lab sizing tests are carried out to check
• Progress of the material at various stages of
treatment
• The efficiency of power
• The effect of grinding on the recovery of values
from the ore.
• Lab screening is normally done up to 40 microns
• A screen- an assembly of various apertures to
test many particles at the same time.
Screens:
• Screens are circular shells of brass – 8” dia and 2” ht.
• Screen cloth is at the bottom of the shell.
• Screens nest in each other in order of decreasing size. A
complete set has a cover and bottom pan.
• Mesh number: The number of apertures per linear inch is
called as mesh number
• Mesh size: the distance between to two wires is called
mesh size
 Hand Screening
• The screens are assembled ( NEST of SIEVES )- the
coarsest at the top and the finest at the bottom.
• The sieves should not have any defect and they
are brushed to clear the apertures before
assembly.
• The final undersize product is collected in a pan,
tightly fitting the third screen. The sieves should
closely fit to prevent loss of fines during sieving.
• A sample of 200 gm is loaded in the upper sieve
• For good screening – ideal load is one particle
deep. Normally up to four particles deep are
loaded with good accuracy.
 Hand Screening
• The assembly is held in the right hand and struck
against the palm of the left hand.
• The sieve assembly is rotated by 60O and the
direction of shaking is changed every 30 seconds.
• The operation is repeated for a given length of
time.
• The time of sieving depends on the nature of the
material.
• (Eg:-friable materials should not be screened with
shock for longer period- they disintegrate).
• The undersize is removed and sieve analysis is
carried out.
 Mechanical Screening
• Normally used for lab work.
• A set of standard screens with pan at bottom pan are
assembled on a framework of a mechanical shaker.
• Normal operating time – 5-20 minutes.
• In the sieve shaker, the material on the screen is given a
continuous circular motion.
• A blow is given to the nest of sieves once for each
revolution.
• Most satisfactoryscreening result can be obtained by
maintaining layer of one particle deep in each screen
• The main limitation is that fine particles may adhere to
coarse particles or to each other through electrostatic
action.
• It can be prevented by wet-cum-dry screening.
161
SIEVE ANALYSIS

11
PRESENTATION OF SEIVE ANALYSIS
Size m mm Actual % Cumulative %
+13.33 0.74 0.74
-13.33 + 9.423 2.60 3.34
-9.423 + 6.680 11.41 14.75
-6.680 + 4.699 32.12 46.87
-4.699 + 3.327 18.34 65.21
-3.327 + 2.362 11.05 76.26
-2.362 + 1.651 7.13 83.39
-1.651 + 1.168 4.83 88.22
-1.168 + 0.833 3.33 91.55
-0.833 + 0.589 2.30 93.85
-0.589 + 0.417 1.71 95.96
-0.417 + 0.295 1.33 96.89
-0.295 + 0.208 0.94 97.83
-0.208 + 0.147 0.70 98.53
-0.147 + 0.104 0.52 99.05
-0.104 + 0.074 0.33 99.38
-0.074 0.62 100.0
100.00

167
 PRESENTATION OF SEIVE ANALYSIS
% retained

Cumulative weight charting .

Size, mm

% retained
By
Individual size-grade

Direct charting ( weight –frequency plot).

168
Size, mm
 SUB SIEVE SIZING
• Normally sieving is done in labs up to 70 microns
size. There may be a lot of unsized material.
• Sub sieving is done to size particles less than 70
microns in size.
• Methods used are
- Sedimentation
- Elutriation
- Infra sizing,
- Microscopic methods.
 SEDIMENTATION
• It is based on the falling rate of small particles through
static liquids.
• The sample is suspended in a fluid medium and suitable
agitation is given.
• Now it is allowed to settle for a fixed time.
• The settling action is stopped by withdrawing (siphoning
out) the fluid medium after the fixed time.
• The sediment is again subjected to the above operations.
Nearly 20 or more such cycles are carried out.
• In each cycle, certain weight of the sediment is reported.
• Sedimentation method is used to size down to 5 - 2
microns.
 ELUTRIATION
• The fall of a particle due to its mass is retarded by the
friction between the particles and the rising column
of fluid.
• This depends on the total surface of the particle.
• When a large number of spheres having the same
specific gravity move in a rising column of water –
- The smaller ones rise
- The medium ones dance in a diluted layer
- The larger ones fall through the water.
• This behavior of the spheres depends on the chances
of collision and Kinetic energy gained during rising or
falling.
• This principle is used to separate out particles.
 ELUTRIATION
• Particles falling in a rising fluid can be classified into
two sizes
• The fluid is rising with a certain velocity.
• The particles having terminal velocities greater than
this fluid velocity will settle at the bottom of the
sorting column.
• The particles having terminal velocities less than this
fluid velocity will be lifted to the top of the sorting
column.
• This will be carried away to the next tube containing
sorting liquid.
• The process was repeated and sizing is carried out
ELUTRIATION
 ELUTRIATION
• The ELUTRIATOR consists of
- Water supply at constant head,
- Flow rate controller for the water rising through
the elutriator
- A sorting tube with smooth and parallel sides
- Separate vessels (receptacles) to catch the
overflowing and under flowing particles.

19
 INFRASIZING
• Infrasizing used to size the materials that are finer
than those handled by sedimentation or elutriation.
• A current of air is sent with minimum turbulence
through a series of tubes.
• The tubes have increasing diameters.
• A 50 gm sample ore is introduced into the air stream.
• The heaviest particles fall out first and the lightest stay
in the tubes of largest diameter.
• The infra-sizer and the sample should be dry.
• Electrostatic effects on the particles is reduced/
removed by using conducting rubber in the flexible
connections.
• The apparatus can be used to separate the sizes down
to a few microns
INFRASIZER
 MICROSCOPIC MEASUREMENT
• A metallurgical microscope is used for this purpose. The
microscope has calibrated stage.
• The ore particles are sprinkled or dispersed on the stage.
Linear measurement of each particle is done separately.
Average size of particle is measured in the lot of material
sprinkled.
• Can make actual measurements upto 0.5 micron level.
• Even finer particles can be measured with microscopes
having better resolution.
• This method is unsuitable if sizes of particles differ very
much since -
- Larger particles may cover finer particles and may not
be visible
- All particles may not be in focus,
- Fine particles may stick to larger particles.
MICROSCOPIC MEASUREMENT

23
 INDUSTRIAL SCREENING
• Industrial screening is divided into two categories
- Screening
- Classification
• Screening - used to screen particles of several
inches in size to particles as fine as 0.1 mm.
• Normally used to size coarser than 20 mesh
screens.
• Classification - used to classify particles of 2-3
mm sizes to 0.02-0.03 mm.
• Normally used to size finer than 35 mesh screens.
 SCREENING
Screening is mainly done to -
• Prevent oversized particles from entering a
machine, not suitable for them.
• To separate undersized particles from the
feed to a crushing machine which is meant
to crush larger pieces
• To separate minerals/ores into specified
sizes
• To prepare a correctly sized feed for a given,
subsequent concentration process
 SCREENING
• Screening surfaces are of three types -
Parallel rods:
• Made of steel bars, rails, cast iron or wood.
Punched plates:
• Circular/square/slot like holes are punched in metal
sheet.
• Square apertures give more screening area. Circular
holes are better for coarse particles.
Woven wire screening surface:
• Carefully gauged wires (Steel, copper, bronze) are
woven or placed in two perpendicular directions
equally and welded.
SCREENS
 INDUSTRIAL SCREENS
WET & DRY.
FIXED SCREENS MOVING SCREENS

GRIZZLIES

ROLL SCREENS
SHAKING CONVEYING
SCREENS SCREENS
FLAT SCREENS REVOLVING
SCREENS
PUNCHED SCREENS VIBRATING SCREENS TROMMELS ( REELS )

MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL

28
 GRIZZLIES
• It is used to protect primary crushers against overload.
• They are made of steel or wooden bars having a rectangular
cross section.
• The bars have taper from feed end to discharge end. The
bars are held together by cross rods or by bolts.
• The stationary grizzly is set at a slope of 25-50o – helps in the
free slide of the ore.
• Various types of grizzlies:
• Moving bar Grizzly - Alternate bars rise and subside .
• Helps in the forward movement of the material with
TURNING OVER.
• Roll grizzly - A series of grooved rollers are driven in the
same direction. The rollers remove oversized lumps.
• Grizzlies can be vibrated mechanically or electrically or by
impact of falling ore lumps.
GRIZZLIES
GRIZZLIES
VIBRATING GRIZZLIES

32
 ROLL SCREENS
• A bank of rolls are arranged in the form of a
cascade. They provide square apertures between
adjacent rolls. Used to screen finer sizes ( 10-100
mm) of HARDER ORES. Costly, Less efficient.
 FLAT SCREENS
• They are inclined- helps in the flow of material.
• They are given periodic motion – helps in rolling
/bouncing of the ore lumps .
• Lumps/particles screened depend upon
- Length of the screen (increased length, better
performance),
- Slope of the screen (increased slope, lesser
particles are screened),
- Amplitude of vibration ( should be just sufficient
to clear the screen),
- Frequency of vibration ,
- Depth of particle bed on the deck (5-6 particles
deep for optimum screening efficiency).
FLAT SCREENS
 PUNCHING SCREENS
• These screens are made by punching the round or
square holes in metal sheets and are quite cheap.
• The screens having square apertures are usually
preferred due to more screening area available
compared to that with round holes, but circular
openings are better for coarse work.
• The surface of such screens is rather smooth which
aids the sliding of particles about rather than roll on
them.
• In the field of ore processing, these punched screens
are made with large apertures (usually more than 40
mm) and fitted into trommels.
• However, the screens can be used for quite small
apertures down to 70 microns for metal powders.
PUNCHED SCREENS
 TROMMELS
• They are also known as revolving screens
• They are rotating cylindrical shells of screen
material (punched sheet ).
• They are 3-4 ft in dia and 5-10 ft long.
• The material to be screened flows into the
shell.
• The shell rotates.
• The shell is kept in an inclined position.
• The particles move towards the discharge
(lower) end. The undersize particles are
collected at the bottom.
 Trommels
• Trommels can be operated in two ways.
• Cylinders are in one line-finest screen first,
coarsest last. The first cylinder is fed with the
crushed ore.
• Very fine particles are separated.
• The coarse oversize is fed to the next screen and
the process continues.
• Compound (concentric) trommel.
• Screens are made to rotate on a single shaft.
• The coarsest screen is the innermost and the
finest screen is the outermost
TROMMELS – STATIONARY AND MOVING
COMPOUND TROMMEL TROMMEL IN SERIES

41
 VIBRATING SCREENS
• Have one or more decks working at low slopes.
• Used for medium coarse and fine particles
screening (250 mm and 0.2 mm)
• The screens are given a vibratory motion.
• The vibrating screens gives higher capacity and
efficiency
• The vibrating screens are classified on the basis of
the type of vibrating mechanism used
- Electrically Vibrated screens
- Mechanically vibrated screens
 ELECTRICALLY VIBRATED SCREENS
• They uses electromagnetic devices
• A stationary electromagnet sets up a reciprocating
motion.
• Amplitude is controlled by regulating the voltage
given to the magnetic coils.
• The screening units may have one or two
screening surfaces.
• The screening surface is fixed at angle of 25-50o to
the horizontal
• This type of screens do not have any rotating
parts thus requires less maintenance
ELECTRICALLY VIBRATED SCREENS
MECHANICALLY VIBRATED SCREENS
• Widely used screens in mineral dressing
operations – can screen medium sized to coarse
sized particles and fine particles ( 250 mm and 0.2
mm).
• They have one or more decks.
• They work at low slopes.
• The screens are given reciprocating motion–
straight line, perpendicular, circular or
oblique movements.
• Rapid, low amplitude vibrations give higher
capacity and efficiency.
MECHANICALLY VIBRATED SCREENS
 SHAKING SCREENS
• They have plane surface.
• They are used to sort dry and soft materials –
normally or coal preparation. The screen is hung
by chains.
• Shaking is done sidewise or endwise.
• The material gets lifted and thrown forward when
the screen moves to the front.
• When it moves back, the material is tossed in air.
• This causes largest particles on top and allows
smaller ones to pass through the mesh.
OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF SCREENS
• Screening capacity is given by (tonnes/sq. meter/mm
screen aperture/day)
• Screening capacity depends on
- Area of the screening surface,
- Size of the opening,
- Specific gravity, moisture content, temperature,
proportion of fines etc..
- Type of screening mechanism used.
• Capacity decreases with increasing oversize fraction.
• Capacity is more for oblong apertures than square
apertures
 Screening Efficiency
Screening Efficiency can be increased by
• Increased % of the screen openings to passage of the
undersized particles
• Smoothness of screen wires
• Suitability of aperture shape to the average particle shape
• Increased transit time.
Screening Efficiency adversely affected by
• Increased rate of feed,
• Increased % of near mesh grains
• Increased thickness of bed
• Increased moisture content
• Lack of response of screening surface to vibratory motion
provided.
 OPERATING COST
• Very low compared to other operations of mineral dressing
• No operating cost for stationary screens, only power cost
for moving screens, Low labor charges, Cost of replacing
screens.
For good screening operation:
• There should be good tension on the screen in the frame
• The combined effect of vibration, speed and amplitude
must be optimised
• There should be low moisture content in the feed
• The vibrating strokes should be equally distributed in all
parts of the screen,
• Feed should be spread entire width of the screen.
Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
• Particle shape
• Size of screen opening
• Relative sizes of particle and opening
• Angle of incidence of particles on screens
• Friction of the sieve
• Moisture content
• Soluble salts
• Spreading of feed over screen area
• Corrosion of screen material
Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
Particle shape:
• Most of the ore particles processed on screens are
non-spherical.
• Spherical particles pass with equal probability in any
orientation.
• Irregular-shaped near-mesh particles must orient
themselves in a direction that permits them to pass
• Elongated and slab like particles will present a small
cross- section for passage in some orientations and a
large cross- section in others.
• The extreme particle shapes therefore have a low
screening efficiency.
Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
.
Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
Size of screen opening:
• The capacity of a screen is proportional to the screen
aperture.
• The chance of a particle passing through the aperture
is proportional to the percentage of open area in the
screen material (i.e., the ratio of the net area of the
apertures to the whole area of the screening surface).
• Open area decreases with the fineness of the screen
aperture.
• Use of very thin and fragile wires for deck construction
increases the open area of a fine screen.
• Near mesh size particles tend to peg or plug the
apertures and reduces the screen efficiency.
 Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
Relative sizes of particle and opening:
• Relative sizes of particle and opening controls the
passage/non passage of the particles.
• A small particle can fall easily through the sieve opening.
• As its size approaches that of the opening, it becomes
increasingly difficult to fall through the opening.
Angle of incidence of particles on screens:
• It is an important parameter.
• The particle should fall with its minimum cross section ,
normal to the aperture .
• The fall should be slow.
• As the deviation from normal increases, the chance of
passage of the particle decreases.
Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
Friction of the sieve:
• Friction of the screen makes bunches of fine, dried
particles. It is due to static electricity.
• Several undersized particles make a bunch and find difficult
to pass through the screen.
• They may be wrongly reported as oversize particles.
• Bunching increases with temperature- screening is to be
done in cool rooms.
Moisture content:
• Very dry particles/wet pulp can be easily screened.
• Difficult to screen dry particles with small amount of water.
• Dampness causes particles sticking together or clinging to
screen surface.
Factors Affecting Screening Efficiency
Soluble salts:
• Soluble salts adhering to particles increase effective
cross section of the particles- wrong report of sieve
analysis.
Spreading of feed over screen area:
• If the feed is spread wider on the screen, it is easier
for the particles to pass through the openings.
Corrosion of screen material:
• This produces roughness on the sieve and changes
the opening size.
• Stainless steel sieves may be used.