Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/93285
Air classifiers are rugged by design, but they do require a degree of maintenance to keep them running at peak performance. Maintenance Guide for Air Classifiers A service technician should check these 10 items to help identify and fix problems with air classifiers. by William Chapman and William MacNeil 22 ir classifiers are normally employed when dry material particle size for sep- aration is too fine for screening. The beauty of an air classification system is that it defeats the blinding and breaking issues associated with screening. The most significant advantage is its dry process for de-dusting aggre- gates. This can, ultimately, eliminate the need for water or settling ponds; saving money, land, and the environment. A Air classifiers work by combining the prin- AGGREGATES MANAGER October 2012 ciples of centrifugal and drag force, collision, and gravity to generate a balanced high-precision method of classifying particles according to size and density. While density does play a role in air classifier separation, the internal air currents are mostly affected by the overall mass and weight of the particles in the feed. Lighter and smaller particles are removed by the airflow, while heavier and larger particles are not entrained in the airflow. If the lower-density material also has a finer particle size, then air classifiers can be very