Designing a vacuum conveying system to handle feedrate changes
Columnist Paul E. Solt explains how to design a vacuum conveying system to handle feedrate changes.
I've always said that a material being conveyed can't tell if it's under vacuum or pressure. That's because, in many respects, vacuum and pressure pneumatic conveying systems are very similar. In both systems the air always flows from a higher pressure to a lower pressure, which causes the conveying air (or other gas) to expand and in turn increases the air velocity throughout the conveying system. [Editor’s note: For a review of pneumatic conveying system basics, see Solt’s past columns.1,2]