When is it desirable to step (increase) conveying line diameter?
In a series of columns, Paul E. Solt -- a private consultant with more than 35 years experience in installing and troubleshooting pneumatic conveying systems -- looks at pneumatic conveying through the computer eye to analyze the relationships among several operating parameters.
In this sixth column, we'll determine when it's desirable to step -- or increase -- the conveying line diameter in a pneumatic conveying system and how to calculate the point along the conveying line where the diameter should be increased. You can step the line diameter for both vacuum and pressure conveying systems designed to operate in dilute phase [stream flow] or dense phase [two-phase flow].