How To Solve The Problem Of Gravity Thickener

The gravity thickener is mainly used in the dewatering operation of concentrate and tailings in the concentrator. In daily applications, pressure harrow is one of the common failures of gravity thickeners. Once the harrowing problem occurs, it will not only waste material resources but also increase investment costs. Therefore, it is very important to solve the problem in time. How to solve the pressure harrow problem of gravity thickener? Next, let us see it.

There are many reasons for the crushing of the gravity thickener. Below we mainly introduce the failure and feeding of the gravity thickener.

Causes pressure harrow of gravity thickener

The main faults of the gravity thickener are the falling off of the rake teeth of the rake, the deformation of the rake, the falling off of the angle steel agitator, and the failure of the underflow pump.

1. The rake teeth of the gravity thickener rake fall off

The material of the thickener is scraped from the upper part of the thickener to the bottom during the drive of the rake. If the rake frame (part of the rake frame) of the thickener rake is damaged or falls off, the material cannot be effectively scraped off during the rotation of the rake, causing the material to accumulate, and the harrowing failure is prone to occur.

2. The rake of the gravity thickener is deformed

The deformation of the rake of a thickener is similar to the shedding of rake teeth. When the rake is bent and deformed, the rake teeth at the deformed part cannot scrape the material stably and effectively during the transmission process, which will cause the material to accumulate for a long time and cause the problem of harrowing.

3. The angle steel agitator of the gravity thickener falls off

There is a ring of the annular trough at the bottom of the thickener material accumulation. During the drive of the rake, the angle steel agitator at the bottom of the rake is also constantly agitated. Mainly play the role of loosening the material, so that the material can be output normally with the underflow pump. If the angle steel stirrer falls off and the bottom material cannot be output normally, the pressure rake failure will occur.

Solution: The solution to the above-mentioned problems: The operator must strictly follow the daily inspection and maintenance requirements to conduct inspection records. In normal times, you should also observe the operation of the equipment at any time, and find that the operation is abnormal, and check and solve the problem in time. Remember, you cannot force the operation for production in the event of a failure of the thickener.

Improper feeding of gravity thickener leads to harrowing

There are two main reasons for the pressure harrow caused by improper feeding of the thickener, one is that the feeding amount is greater than the processing capacity, and the other is that the feeding is too coarse.

1. The feed volume of the thickener is greater than the processing volume

When the feed volume of the gravity thickener is longer than the processing volume for a long time, the underflow is in positive production and discharge, which will increase the torque. Once the torque is so high that the rake is automatically lifted, the harrowing failure will occur.

Solution: Ensure that the feed volume is consistent with the processing volume. Once the torque is high, the feed rate should be reduced, and the bottom flow rate should be increased appropriately. After the normal time is restored, the feed and bottom flow rate should be adjusted to the normal state.

2. The feed size of the gravity thickener is too coarse

The feed particle size of the thickener is too coarse, mainly because the particle size does not meet the requirements in the grinding operation. The particle size of the slurry material in the gravity thickener is too coarse, it will be compacted too quickly in the thickener, and it is not easy to be scraped off by the rake, and the too thick material will easily cause abrasion to the rake. At the same time, the underflow pump of the thickener is prone to segregation (that is, the water will be washed away and the coarse sand will be left) when transporting coarse particles. After a long period, the coarse particles will slowly accumulate, causing the harrow to be crushed.

Solution: The grinding capacity should be reduced in time, or the feed of the thickener should be stopped. On the other hand, the grinding workshop should be strictly required to control the grinding particle size.

Above, we only described the reasons and solutions of the thickener’s harrow from the two dimensions of the equipment’s failure and improper feeding. In addition, the rational design of the thickener and the proper operation of the staff may also cause the thickener to press the rake. Therefore, in actual production, maintenance personnel should pay attention to the maintenance, and cleaning of the thickener in time.