Development of an Experimental Setup for the Investigation of Grinding of Wood and a Proposal for a Pulsed Loading Technique

The study of the fiberizing mechanism in the grinding of wood requires specialized laboratory equipment to allow process alteration and data collection. The design and development of a unique grinding setup and the control device and instrumentation needed for wood grinding research are outlined. A pulsed loading technique for increasing the effectiveness of the fiberizing mechanism is proposed and this technique is tested in a series of experiments conducted with the grinding operations. Significant energy saving and pulp quality improvement for wood ground at 72 F (22.2 C) are achieved using a variable frequency and amplitude load pulsation superimposed over the constant grinding load. The pulsed loading technique can be used as a control device to minimize the effect of grinder input variation such as wood properties or stone surface conditions by altering the process during grinding to optimize the effect of the fiberizing mechanism.