FACTORS CONTROLLING THE PASSAGE OF FIBERS THROUGH SLOTS

The passage of fibers through apertures is the essential action of pul p screening. Screen capacity, contaminant removal efficiency, reject t hickening, and other important parameters of screen operation can be l inked to fiber passage by mathematical models. To obtain a better unde rstanding of fiber passage and improve screen performance, tests were made using a flow channel. These tests revealed that fiber passage inc reases dramatically with increased slot velocity. Passage also increas ed with increased slot width, increased fiber flexibility, reduced fib er length, and reduced upstream velocity. The ability of screens to se gregate one type of fiber from another was found to be greatest at low slot velocities.