A numerical and experimental study regarding the influence of some process parameters on the damage state in wood chips

• The specific energy consumption during mechanical refining operation can be reduced by choosing the optimal process parameters in the wood chipping process such that a beneficial pretreatment is obtained. In the case of the utilization of a larger knife-edge angle, which is one such process parameter, the energy reduction is presumably due to the increased compressive loading parallel to the wood fibers. In the present article, a chip damage parameter D of spruce is in focus, which is relevant for cracking parallel to the fibers. D is defined and its dependence on the chip length and edge angle of the chipping knife is analyzed numerically by means of finite element analyses (FEA). The cutting force was measured in a pilot wood chipper for a number of knife-edge angles. There is a good correlation between the experimental results and those of FEA.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Kemiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Chemical Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

chipping process

finite element analysis (FEA)

knife angle

numerical analyses

pretreatment of chips

wood chips

Engineering science with specialization in Applied Mechanics

Teknisk fysik med inriktning mot tillämpad mekanik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)