Clarifying Decanters for Starch Recovery

Especially in starch processing the solids inside the decanters are relatively difficult to convey in the centrifugal field, this can trigger the stick-slip effect. 

The solids move inconsistently creating dynamic loads on the mechanical components. Possible effects: Strong torque shocks and oscillations, which create loads on the drive shaft. This leads to increased fatigue and wear to machine components such as the bowl, scroll, gearbox, shafts and coupling. Stick-slip increases the risk of unplanned, expensive downtimes with costly repairs. Until now customers were only able to tell their decanters are affected when it was too late and damage had been occurred.

With GEAs new Active Torque Control feature starch customers cannot only safely detect the stick-slip effect, ATC also puts an end to it. On top, the decanter does everything by itself, automatically. Our new sensor-based monitoring and control method precisely detects the onset of torsional vibrations on the coupling and, depending on their intensity, avoids them by automatically changing the differential speed. Changes in differential speed are minimal as ATC can detect if its intervention was successful in ending the stick slip effect or not. 

So our customers can be sure that their decanters still discharge the solids as dry as under stick slip effects possible. Thus, Active Torque Control saves them not only trouble with expensive downtimes due to machine damages, it also saves them unnecessary drier costs due to a poorly operated decanter.