Case studies show how our products perform in different industries and different material clogging problems.
This time, we have received many inquiries about the "fly ash" bridge problem, which is very prone to clogging.
To produce high quality cement, ready-mixed concrete plants often mix fly ash into their products. Fly ash is used as a catalyst and extender in ready-mixed concrete to produce well-cured, crack-resistant concrete. The beneficial properties of fly ash for ready-mixed concrete make it difficult to handle.
[problem]: Beneficial properties make handling difficult!
A concrete company in Pennsylvania had six ready-mixed concrete plants and was having trouble bridging fly ash in its containers. The ash was pneumatically conveyed from lorries to overhead storage bins at the plant. A screw feeder moved the fly ash from the container to the ready-mix truck where it was mixed with the cement, sand and stones in the truck.
Sticky fly ash bridging and clogging near the outlet of the vessel , causing production to stop. Workers had to manually eject the container to re-flow the fly ash. The company initially tried the aerator in an overhead storage container, but it failed to clear the clogged fly ash.
[solution]: Easy installation and maintenance is also a feature of Air Sweep!
Four air sweep units were installed in one of the plant's fly ash storage bins. Designed to be installed from the outside of the vessel, it was able to be installed with about 8 tons of fly ash still in the vessel. Air sweeps were installed at various positions (heights) on the vessel.
Factory air was used at 0.61Mpa, average 204L/min. Timed to pulse 0.25 s bursts from the air sweep at 20 s intervals. After each pulse, the air sweep instantly resealed, so no material clogged the system.
[results]
After the air sweep was installed, the fly ash moved very smoothly from the container to the ready mix truck. "After installing the air sweep unit, production went from 0% to 100% overnight," said the factory's Quality Control Technical Services Manager. As a result, the factory increased production by 60%. Workers no longer need to shed fly ash, so they have more time to do other work. After initially installing an air sweep on one container as a trial, the company also installed air sweep units on fly ash containers at other plants.