The horizontal spiral unloading sedimentation centrifuge (hereinafter referred to as the horizontal spiral centrifuge) is an efficient solid-liquid separation equipment. It uses the density difference between solids and liquids, and through the strong centrifugal force generated by high-speed rotation, it amplifies this density difference by thousands of times, thereby achieving effective separation of solids and liquids, and realizes the separate discharge of solid and liquid phases through a special structure.
The entire feeding and separation process is carried out continuously and automatically under a closed state, avoiding human intervention and improving operational safety and efficiency.
As a high-speed operation equipment, the horizontal spiral centrifuge has many significant advantages:
It has good adaptability to materials of different properties, and can process a wide range of solid phase particle sizes (roughly between 0.005 and 2mm). Even if the particle sizes are inconsistent, it can operate stably and complete separation;
In addition, the equipment supports continuous automatic operation, can work stably for a long time, is easy to maintain, and supports sealing operation to reduce material leakage;
The horizontal spiral centrifuge has a large single-machine processing capacity, compact structure, small footprint, and is easy to realize DCS automatic control system integration.
However, most common faults of horizontal spiral centrifuges are manifested in the form of “vibration”. Therefore, operators should have certain basic knowledge of vibration judgment and dynamic balancing. In particular, the drum and spiral parts must be adjusted and corrected by dynamic balancing. Some problems, such as deformation of the drum or spiral, need to be solved with the help of special dynamic balancing correction equipment. However, in daily use, there are also many problems that can be prevented in advance, such as:
Due to the limitations of structural design, the drum and spiral components of the horizontal screw centrifuge are relatively weak in rigidity. When they are stationary for a long time, they are prone to bending and deformation due to their own weight, thereby aggravating the vibration of the equipment during operation. Therefore, for equipment that has not been used for a long time, it is recommended to perform manual rotation (turning) operation at least once every half a month to prevent component deformation. At the same time, the equipment must be strictly carried out in accordance with the operating procedures when starting, stopping and cleaning to avoid abnormalities caused by improper operation. At the same time, the operator should pay attention to the vibration and noise during the operation of the equipment at any time. Once an abnormality is found, the machine should be stopped for inspection immediately to prevent “running with illness”.
Common faults and countermeasures of horizontal screw centrifuge
Common fault 1: Equipment blockage
When the centrifuge has a blockage problem, the initial manifestation is usually that no solids are discharged for a long time. If the feed conditions have not changed, and the outlet liquid gradually becomes turbid or even close to the color and state of the feed liquid, accompanied by the following phenomena: the current of the drum continues to rise, the speed decreases significantly, and the slag discharge torque continues to rise and remains high – these may indicate that the equipment has been blocked inside, and it should be stopped for inspection and treatment in time.
In this case, do not press the emergency button. The centrifuge is running at high speed and has no brake device. The emergency button cannot provide any help at this time.
We must first cut off the feed of the centrifuge immediately. In most cases, the centrifuge can rely on the pushing action of the spiral to eliminate the blockage by itself. If it cannot push the material to eliminate the blockage by itself, we should immediately reduce the speed of the drum or turn off the drum driver, but never turn off the spiral motor. After the centrifuge drum slows down, the blocked solid slag may gradually loosen and be discharged out of the machine by the spiral.
For centrifuges that do have blockages, after the drum stops rotating completely, we should still inject water into the machine and do everything possible to restore the operation of the spiral. As long as the spiral can rotate, the centrifuge is not really blocked and it is still possible to return to normal. Injecting water into the machine and resuming spiral operation are the preferred methods for centrifuges to eliminate blockages.
Common fault 2: abnormal vibration of the machine
Abnormal vibration of the centrifuge is a destructive force that will cause serious damage to the machine.
Machine vibration is divided into chronic vibration and sudden vibration.
Chronic vibration mostly indicates that the centrifuge has been worn, external parts have been worn or fallen off, and the bearing system has gradually been damaged.
Sudden vibration often indicates that the internal material is blocked, the internal parts have been seriously damaged and fallen off. In most cases, you should first check whether the slag discharge system has failed, causing the solid slag to accumulate and rise, whether the clear liquid pipeline is blocked, causing the liquid to extend back to the centrifuge drum, etc.
Common fault 3: The bearing temperature is too high
When the bearing temperature is high, first check whether the amount of grease added to the bearing is too large, whether the centrifuge has excessive vibration, and whether the bearing has abnormal noise during operation.
At the same time, we should observe the color of the waste grease of the bearing. The normal color of the waste grease should be light gray. If the color of the waste grease of the bearing is black, rusty yellow or other abnormal colors, it means that the bearing may be damaged and the bearing should be replaced in advance.
