Simulation and Experimental Study on Vibration Separation of Residual Film and Soil Based on EDEM

Due to the complexity of impurity removal from the residual film, there is currently no better impurity removal equipment. To improve the screening performance of the residual film mixture, the vibrating screen was designed. In this paper, the key factors A, B, C, and D were identified through mechanical analysis of the mixture (where they represented the screen aperture diameter, vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and screen mesh inclination angle, respectively). The soil screen rate (Y1) and screening loss rate (Y2) were evaluated. And the optimal ranges for these factors were determined by single-factor experiments. Based on the EDEM, the discrete element model was established to simulate the interaction between residual film and soil. And the motion characteristics of the residual film mixture were analyzed within the screen body through a combination of simulation and bench tests. The vibrating screen’s structural parameters were optimized using Box-Behnken experiments. The most suitable combination of settings was as shown below: A = 6.5 mm, B = 25 mm, C = 3.8 Hz, and D = 4°. Following the optimization of these parameters, the screening performance was optimized. Results of bench tests showed that the soil screening rate was 80.33% and the screening loss rate was 19.31%. This study was expected to offer theoretical and simulation-based methods for optimizing the parameters of residual film-soil vibrating screening devices.