What exactly is a wedge wire screen?
A wedge wire screen is popularly used for filtering, dehydration, and screening for sieving and filtration operations. It is like a metal mesh with a broad application and has spread its arms in various industries. The load-carrying capacity, strength, and rigidity of the wedge wire screen are very high. They can also be transformed into multiple shapes for different applications according to the rigidity of the wedge wire screen.
The wedge wire screen is a versatile product used for various applications. The factors that make wed wire screen a versatile product are its characteristics such as clogging resistance and toughness. The screen can also be formed as a mesh or slit suitable for various purposes by simply arranging these wires in a triangular shape at an equal interval.
The wedge wire screen has two profiles, namely surface profile and support profile. Both the profile has different characteristics, let us understand them in detail. The surface profile has wires in a “V” shape. These wires are welded and wrapped on the support profiles. This leads to the slot formation through which the filtrate flows and the distance is controlled with precision between the surface profiles. The wire has a “V” shape; that is, the position of the surface profile determines the flow direction for the support profiles. The two different types of wedge wire screens are:
- Flow-in-to-out
- Flow-out-to-in
Features of Wedge Wire Screen
Highly Durable and Powerful: The critical feature of the wedge wire screen is that it is highly durable and has high strength compared to filters such as filter cloth, perforated plates, or wire mesh. Factors such as the material used for making the wedge wire and the environment it is used in effects the life of the screen. Typically, It can be used for a long time without any definite end or need for replacement. This helps in reducing the running cost. A few wedge wire screens are developed using unique materials such as duplex stainless steel or titanium, making it an even more effective and durable product.
These benefits are due to the following reasons:
- The smooth screen surface of the wedge wire screen helps in keeping the degree of water constant.
- Forming a screen having a larger wire diameter than the split is possible.
- The material used in the production of the its wire screen is stainless steel wires (SUS304,316L).
Improvement in Dewatering, Reduction in Clogging: A significant characteristic of the wedge wire screen is its triangular shape. Because, as the material passes through the passage, there is a minor point of contact, and the slit’s tip gets widened such that the material is not likely to clog. In such cases, when the material gets blocked, the backwashing can help clear it as it is so strong that the maintainability becomes easy.
Advantage of Wedge Wire Screen
- The circulation area is broader and larger
- Has uniform filter slots
- No dead-ends due to the small aperture between wedge wire
- Can stand high-pressure drop and has superior mechanical strength
Conclusion
Many machine parts use wedge wire screens, especially in the filtration equipment and dewatering machines. Due to their varied applications and processing formats, they’re manufactured in different shapes such as flat, conical, and cylindrical.
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