DEM simulation shows that the nature of the particle flow in an
inclined screw conveyor is surprisingly complex and is reasonably
sensitive to the operating conditions. The predicted mass flow rate for
transport by the screw conveyor was in excellent agreement with
experimentally measured values for the horizontal and the vertical
configurations across the full range of screw rotation rates. The
throughput predictions for the screw conveyor inclined at 30° and 60°
followed the correct qualitative trend but modestly under-estimated
the mass flow rates by 16% and 24% respectively. These underestimations
will be explored in future work by looking at variations of
particle–wall and particle–particle friction and/or particle shape
effects.