ENGINEERING FEATURES liqu :

as d
with

Screens and screening clea]

Wire cloth is used for sieves, strainers and filters.
Here are some tips on how to select it wisely.
John Muldoon, Newark Wire Cloth Co.
❑ Wire cloth is an interweaving of wires of a particular
diameter to form a screen having openings of a definite
size. Its most common function is to separate desirable
material from undesirable. Wire cloth can also perform a
separation or sizing function when there is no undesir-
able component in the process.
In a typical process plant, screens will be found per-
forming some, or all, of the following:
■ Size classification (also laboratory testing), or check-
ing production quality.
■ Separating dry product by size, or breaking up
lumps and reducing product to a uniform size.
■ Separating solids from fluids in process filtration.
■ Removing impurities from untreated water intakes,
or pollutants from plant effluents.
Test sieves
Test sieves are used to obtain information about the
size ranges of dry materials in a sample. Test sieving is a
quick, reliable method of size analysis. All that is re-
quired is a set of standard sieves—the shaking can be
done by hand. But where much testing will be done, a
shaking machine [1] can save time and energy.
Most specifications for solid raw materials and fin-
ished products stipulate the range of sizes for the materi-
al, or the maximum or minimum size, in terms of the U.S.
Standard Testing Sieve series (developed by the U.S.
Bureau of Standards). For example, test sieves are used
in laboratory testing and quality control of particle size
and uniformity for crystals, powders, pigments and pow-
dered metals. Often, laboratory tests are used to check
Average sizes of common materials Table I
Size range, Size range,
Typical material in. mm
Gravel, ore 3 - 0.1 75 - 2.8
Coarse sand 0.09 - 0.03 2.4 - 0.7
Medium sand 0.02 - 0.01 0.6 - 0.3
Fine sand 0.009 - 0.004 0.25 - 0.1
Silt, powder 0.003 down 0.09 - 0.005
Fine powder, talc 0.001 (1 ,um)
Adapted from Karassik, Igor J., others, eds. "Pump Hand-
book", McGraw-Hill, New York, 1976.
Wir
Se
moro
since
cloth
For <
caust
good
ment
Hasta
Wi
the effectiveness of a production grinder or an industrial espec
screening unit, or check the state of a fluidized catalyst. a ttacl,
Sieves are precision tools, available in a range of the fli
standard sizes, that can be combined to provide multi- other
ple-screen analyses simultaneously. The series of stan- surfac
dard testing sieves is based on the ratio of (2) 1/4 . The corro.
openings of the sieves are sized in an exact progressive might
ratio, so that each larger sieve has openings 1.189 times corro:
(linear dimensions) those of the one before it. Ref. 2 warnii
summarizes the U.S. specification for test sieves. Ref. 1 the fi]
also explains the differences between the U.S. Standard corros
and the recommended International Standard. In d
The sieves are usually made of stainless-steel cloth and given
mounted in a stainless-steel frame because such steels ture, v
have the widest range of application in terms of corro- the pai
sion and abrasion resistances, and material strength. Flowra
Depending on their projected use, sieves may also be ties cal
made of brass or phosphor-bronze wire cloth, and
mounted in brass frames.
Production screens
10 3
In chemical-process-industries plants, screens can sep-
arate dry materials by size in equipment using vibratory
or gyratory motion—for example pigments or pharma-
ceuticals must usually be of uniform size. Screens are
also used for deagglomeration, i.e., to break up lumps in
raw materials or finished products.
Test sieves are very precise, but typical production 10 2
screens sacrifice accuracy for long life.
Wire cloth for production screens is available in a
variety of sizes to separate particulate matter ranging
from several inches to a few micrometers—and in some
cases to less than a micrometer. (One micrometer equals
0.001 mm, or 0.00003934 in.) Exactly what do these
10
particle sizes mean? Table I lists some examples of
materials in the various size ranges.
Process filtration
Wire cloth is used to separate solids from liquids, as in
Flowrates an
dewatering. It may also be used to separate solids from a pressure di
gases, as in scrubbers. For such services, the wire cloth is of 2 r
normally incorporated into strainers and filters. 0.1
In general, strainers remove solid materials by use of a
coarser mesh having larger openings than do filters.
Filter cloth is sometimes used alone as a fine strainer, but
typically it acts as a support structure for filter aids. Wire-clot
Common examples are pressure or vacuum filters where for varios

90 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 6, 1984

 liquid-solid mixtures are forced through a filter aid such
as diatomaceous earth or perlite. Microscopic channels
within the filter aid entrap suspended particles but allow
clear liquid to pass through.
Wire cloth for filters and strainers
Selecting a wire cloth for a filter or strainer is often a
more demanding task than for screening dry materials
since fluids tend to cause more-intensive corrosion. Wire
cloth is available in a variety of materials of construction.
For example, nickel cloth is usually chosen for filtering
caustic solutions; stainless steels and Monels provide
good performance in many other chemical environ-
ments. Sometimes, wire cloths are made from titanium,
Hastelloys, and even noble metals.
Wire cloth is particularly vulnerable to corrosion,
especially when immersed in a corrosive fluid. Instead of
attacking only one surface of a metal plate (as in a vessel),
the fluid can attack the entire outer surface of the wire (in
other words, for a given weight of metal, there is a larger
surface area in a wire screen than in a flat plate). Hence, a
corrosion rate that would be negligible for a metal plate
might be excessive for wire cloth. On the other hand,
corrosion of wire-cloth components can serve as an early
warning. If a change in the process causes corrosion of
the filter, chances are that similar but less-noticeable
corrosion is occurring throughout the process system.
In dealing with fluid filtration, consideration must be
given to pressure-drop requirements, liquid tempera-
ture, viscosity, and specific gravity, as well as the size of
the particulate matter to be removed or passed through.
Flowrates through wire cloth for fluids of varying viscosi-
ties can be determined from a nomograph, such as that
shown in Fig. 1. Such a nomograph will help to find the
required area of the filter or strainer needed to pass a
specific flowrate at a given pressure drop.
Strainer configurations
Strainers are primarily designed to handle a specific
flowrate or to achieve a desired filtration within a reason-
able space. The most common design for strainers is a
variation of the cone. This simple configuration offers
optimum strength and surface area.
Cone strainers range in size from less than 1/4 in. dia.
lo more than several feet. For increased strength and
flow area, the strainers may be fluted or corrugated,
multilayered or multitiered; or filtration may take place
through several stages by using wire cloth ranging from
coarse to fine.
Fig. 2 shows some typical conical pipeline strainers.
Perforated metal is the strongest; wire cloth provides the
finest filtration; perforated metal backing up a wire cloth
attempts to use the best qualities of each material.
Screens for water treatment
A major use of wire cloth in the process plant is for
water treatment. This may involve cleaning raw water
before intake or clarifying effiuent before discharge. In
such services, wire-cloth strainers are used to keep solid
contaminants out of the system, or to keep solid pollut-
ants in the system until they are removed for disposal.
Water treatment involves strainers similar to those for
process filtration, but on a larger scale and with coarser
removal requirements. For example, intake trash
screens, strainers and traveling screens protect process
equipment by removing solid contaminants from plant

10 3
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Wire-cloth flowrates Cross sections of varieties of conical strainers Fig. 2

for various-sized screens Fig. 1

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 6, 1984 91

 SCREENS AND SCREENING

n Space Wire-cloth features

Warp Wire cloth is woven from metallic wires on special
(lengthwise) looms. The wires may be drawn from any malleable
wires materials to virtually any diameter—ranging from an
inch, or more, down to thousandths of an inch.
The term mesh (see Fig. 3) refers to the number of
_--Shute
openings per lineal inch; whereas space refers to the
(crosswise) distance between facing edges of two parallel wires.
wires Wires that run lengthwise with the cloth are called the
warp wires (the same as in weaving cloth), and the back-
and-forth (crosswise) wires are the fill or shute wires.
Wire cloth is manufactured in standard lengths of 100
ft, and widths of 36 or 48 in. Suppliers will cut the
standard bolts to any length or size. Most suppliers also
fabricate the cloth into strainers, filters and other parts,
Mesh: 5 mesh/in. or components as specified; and they will often replace
wire cloth on existing equipment.
Some wire-cloth terminology Fig. 3 Open area of wire cloths
Where flow or throughput is important, it is necessary
to know the open area of the cloth being considered.
intake water (perhaps preceded by a log rake, made of This area will depend on the number of mesh openings
heavy metal bars, to remove the largest objects). per inch, and the diameter of the wire. The simplest way
When a plant or process stream is started up, a strainer to calculate the open area for a given cloth is to deter-
is usually incorporated into the process pipeline to re- mine the projected area for all the wire used in a square
move scale and construction debris. This will protect the inch, and then subtract this value from 1 square inch.
process equipment and keep contaminants from the The remainder will be the open area of the cloth, A, in. 2/
plant discharge. in. 2 , or:
A = (1 — ND)(1 — nd) (1)
where N is the number of warp wires/in.; D is diameter of
Sample industrial-wire-cloth specifications Table II
warp wire, in.; n is number of shute wires/in.; and d is
diameter of shute wire, in.
Openi ng For example, let us consider a cloth having 7 X 7
Mesh Wire dia., in. in. Pnl meshes/in. 2 , and having a wire diameter of 0.025 in.
4X4 0.047 0.203 5,160 Substituting into Eq. (1) yields:
5X5 0.041 0.159 4,040
6X6 0.035 0.132 3,350
A = [1 — (7)(0.025)][1 — (7)(0.025)]
8X8 0.028 0.097 2,460 A = 0.68 in. 2/in. 2
10 X 10 0.025 0.075 1,905
12 X 12 0.023 0.060 1,525 Usually, it will not be necessary to do the calculation
14 X 14 0.020 0.051 1,300 for the open area; most manufacturera of wire cloth
16 X 16 0.018 0.0445 1,130 provide this information in tables, along with data on the
18 X 18 0.017 0.0386 980
diameter of wire, width of opening, and the weight of the
20 X 20 0.016 0.034 860
24 X 24 0.014 0.0277 700 cloth. Ta
30 X 30 0.013 0.0203 520 wii
35 X 35 0.011 0.0176 450 Industrial-grade cloth
40 X 40 0.010 0.015 380
Wire cloth is available in thousands of variations- T3
50 X 50 0.009 0.011 280
60 X 60 0.0075 0.0092 230
with different wire sizes, mesh counts, opening sizes, etc.
70 X 70 0.0065 0.0078 200 We face a formidable choice even if only one consider- we:
80 X 80 0.0055 0.007 180 ation is important. For example, if our goal is to select a cor
90 X 90 0.005 0.0061 160 cloth having Ya-in. openings—perhaps for screening out for
100 X 100 0.0045 0.0055 140
120 X 120 0.0037 0.0046 117
solids of Vs -in. dia., and above—we must select among erg
150 X 150 0.0026 0.0041 104 many wire sizes and meshes. Heavier (i.e., larger diame- tior
200 X 200 0.0021 0.0029 74 ter) wire provides fewer meshes/in., lighter wire more witl
250 X 250 0.0016 0.0024 61 meshes/in.; but all providing the Ya-in. opening. S
325 X 325 0.0014 0.0017 43
To simplify selection, producers supply a range of cha
400 X 400 0.0010 0.0015 38
80 X 700 30 wire cloths having a standard square mesh and wire P
165 X 1,400 20 diameter. These are sized for good performance in most and
200 X 1,120 15 applications, and are consistent with the required open Ix
325 X 2,300 10 area. Such cloths are termed industrial (or "market") wire
450 X 2,750 5
grades, and are usually available in most of the common use(
metals, such as carbon steels, stainless steels, nickels, etc. lock

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 6, 1984

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Plain-weave wire cloth Twilled weave wire cloth Plain-dutch-weave wire cloth

Twilled-dutch-weave wire cloth Herringbone-twill wire cloth Double-crimp wire cloth

O
Intermediate-crimp wire cloth Lock crimp wire cloth Smooth-top wire cloth

Some common types of wire-cloth weaves, whose uses are described in the text Fig. 4

Table II shows typical specifications for industrial-grade
wire cloth.
Types of weave
Industrial-grade wire cloth is available in plain, square
weave (also called "double crimp"). This is the most
common, high-production-volume weave and, there-
fore, tends to be most economical for general use. It is
employed for most separation services and coarse filtra-
tion. A variety of other weaves are also available, each
with specific uses.
Some of the more common afe shown in Fig. 4. The
characteristics of each:
Plain weave or double crimp—Each shute wire passes over
and under each successive warp wire.
Intermediate weave—Adds extra corrugations in the
wires between points of crossing. This configuration is
used with fine wire and wide mesh to assure proper
locking of the wires.
Lock crimp—Extra depth is given to the crimp before
and after each wire crossing, thus locking the wires in
place with no chance of side movement of any wire. This
is a good choice for heavy-duty applications.
Twill weave—Each wire passes successively over two
and under two wires, with the movement offset by one
wire on each pass. This pattern relieves stress, and allows
the cloth to be looser than plain weave for better inter-
support and strength in fine mesh.
Dutch weave—The warp wires are heavier than the
shute wires, allowing the latter to be driven very tightly
together for a compact, firm weave. The openings tend
to be wedge-shaped rather than square, which aids in the
buildup of filter cake. This is popular for filter cloths.
Smooth top or calendered—This weave is available as
double crimp and as stranded (i.e., several wires woven
together). It is often selected for fine filtration. The
finished cloth is rolled or calendered to produce a
smooth surface on one or both sides. This increases the

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 6, 1984 93

 SCREENS AND SCREENING

Examples of weaves, dimensions brass and Monel. Cloths of aluminum, bronze, phos-
and hydraulic properties Table III phor-bronze, nickel, Nichrome, Hastelloys, galvanized
or tinned steel and stainless steel are readily available.
Weave
Noble, rare and refractory metals such as gold and gold-
plated metal, platinum, silver, tungsten, molybdenum,
Square Dutch Twill
325 mesh 50 X 250 80 X 700
columbium (niobium), tantalum and titanium are also
woven. Only metals lacking suitable tensile strength,
Service Water
elongation or annealing qualities cannot be woven.
Flowrate, gal/min 10 10 10
Pressure drop, psi 1 3 9
Selecting the wire-cloth material depends on process
Opening size, prn 43 55 50
needs and cost factors. In working with water, the stain-
Open area, 30 5 5 less steels are commonly used because they have the
Partial size greatest range of corrosion resistance at a practical cost.
retained, in. 0.002 0.002 0.0014 Certain concentrations of contaminants in liquids may
Partial size require a more exotic material such as a Hastelloy, Alloy
passed, in. 0.0016 0.0015 0.0008 20 or titanium. Caustics or dyes might require nickel
cloth. Sometimes, the wire cloth is given a corrosion-
Weave resistant coating such as zinc or tin, applied either to the
Square Dutch Twill wire before weaving or to the finished cloth.
100 mesh 24 X 110 450 X 2,750 A major asset of wire cloth is its excellent physical
Wire size, in. 0.0045/0.0045 0.015/0.010 0.001/0.0008 strength with relatively light weight. Of course, the
Service Oil Water Air actual weight of a length of wire cloth depends on the
Flowrate per in. 2 10 gpm 10 gpm 6 scfm specific metal or alloy, wire diameter, and mesh. figi
Pressure drop, psi 4 1 0.1 calo
Opening size, in. 0.011 0.004 0.0003 Electrolytic corrosion tior
Open area, % 30 5 1
In some applications—particularly in filtering or esti
Partial size
screening salt solutions, seawater or brackish water- ods
retained, 290 125 6
galvanic or electrolytic corrosion must be considered in dro
Partial size
passed, pm 270 100 1
selecting a wire-cloth material. Here, the material for the
cloth must be compatible with the materials of construc- doe
tion of other components in the system. As the sacrificial cok
material, wire cloth is a good selection because strainers con,
density of the wire, and improves the retention and filter- and filters are usually designed for easy, inexpensive ings
cake-release qualities of the cloth when used to support replacement of either the entire component or just the
filter aids. The smooth surface also increases the resis- cloth. (It is important to consider galvanic action when Int
tance of the wire cloth to scraping and rough handling. changing process parameters.)
Let us look at some representative applications for the an
various weaves of wire cloth. For more information set 1
The plain or twilled weaves have very high flowrates, Manufacturers of wire cloth have a wealth of informa- unsa
low pressure drops across the weave, high percentages tion, ranging from geometric and metallurgical proper- deve
of open area, and openings as small as 38 pm. ties and weaves to applications. Much of this information repro
These weaves are used as support screens for the finer is readily available in their literature. the 1
filter cloths, as test sieves, and for making basket-type Roy V. Hughson, Editor 1-1(
strainers where coarse filtration is required. for tl
Intermediate, lock, smooth-top and double-crimp References Usinl
weaves have very large openings, obtained by using 1. Perry, Robert H., and Chilton, Cecil H., "Chemical Engineers' Hand-
find 1
small-diameter wires. Openings range from Ve to more book," 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1973, pp. 21-44, 21-45. Th
2. Weast, Robert C., and Astle, Melvin J., "CRC Handbook of Chemistry
than 6 in. The larger-opening weaves are used in the and Physics," 60th ed. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., 1980, p. F- drop
mining industry for size separations, and on water-intake 159. (Note: This cable also appears in other editions of this handbook, six m;
as well as in the catalogs of some wire-cloth manufacturers.)
pipes to keep out small wildlife. card.
Plain-dutch weaves have good flowrates for the pres- and a
sure drops, and high strength, and are available with are al
openings ranging between 10 and 300 Plain dutch The author fits or
ohn Muldoon is a filtration engineer
weaves are easily cleaned when used in filter operations. fAve.,
orNewark Wire Cloth Co., 351 Verona
Newark NJ 07104; telephone
Th(
Twill-dutch and herringbone-dutch weaves maintain a memc
(201) 483-7700. Previously, he worked
consistent opening, and are suitable for fine filtrations of as chief engineer for Chemiquip enoug
particles ranging from 1 to 75 lun. Products, New York, a maker of porous- sary.
metal filters, as well as for C-E Lummus
Representative examples of these weaves, dimensional Co. He holds a B.S. in mechanical data s:
engineering from Manhattan College
characteristics, and hydraulic properties are given in (Bronx, N.Y.) and is a member of the the da
Table III. American Soc. of Mechanical Engineers. progrz

Materials of construction Usinl

Wire cloth may be woven of any malleable metal or Tabl
alloy. The most common materials are steel, copper, examp

94 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 6, 1984