Frictional Force Measurement for Multiple Plugs in Dense Phase Pneumatic Conveying of Polymer Particles: An Industry Application (original) (raw)

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2012

Abstract

ABSTRACT Frictional forces between particles and the pipe wall in dense phase pneumatic conveying were determined using strain gauges attached to the outside of the pipe wall. To perform the frictional force measurement, a special strain measurement section was designed and inserted in the industrial scale pneumatic conveying system. Three different polymer particles, polyolefin elastomer, polyethylene, and SARAN were transported under the different flow conditions of the superficial air velocity and the mass flow rate of solids. The frictional forces were determined from three different locations of the pipe wall, top, bottom, and sides of the pipe. The plug velocity and plug length were also determined by analyzing pressure signals measured at two different locations. The magnitude of frictional force was found to be proportional to the plug length. In general, the largest frictional forces were measured at the top of the pipe. In addition, the frictional forces were related to the particle’s interaction with the pipe (i.e., the area of contact of individual particle and number of particles that interact with the pipe wall) as well as the material properties. It was also found that the minimum fluidization of the particles could be related to the strain signal fluctuations. Materials with a smaller minimum fluidization velocity showed more fluctuations and thus have less stable operation. The results obtained were compared to the smaller scale laboratory pneumatic conveying system previously performed.(1)

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