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Author Mateu Plana, Laia |
The success in the design of pneumatic conveying facilities depends on being able to know how the products will behave and decide on the appropriate equipment. Several factors have to be taken into account during the design, such as the characteristics of the product to be conveyed, the velocity and the pressure drop required and the critical points along the pipeline. To be able to do that, it is necessary to perform experimental tests in the rheometer and the pilot plant. Based on the results from the rheometer, it has been developed some analysing tools to predict whether the products might generate problems or not and which will be the critical points of the facility. Wheat flour and sugar have been used as an example of the possibilities of the analysis as they are well-known products for the company where it has been done this project, Radar Process. Moreover, the use of an accurate model to calculate the pressure drop required to convey a product is something still under study in the industry. There are many of them, but few give the value of the pressure drop for specific products. A modification of the Zenz-Othmer model has been used to extract the factor K which adjust the model to every product based on experimental test at different conveying velocities. Factor K has turned out to be dependent on the velocity and the pipeline diameter but independent of the mass flow. The results were compared to the current software used in the company to be aware of the reliability of it. Finally, it is proposed a new methodology for the design of new facilities which includes all the tools created during this project to achieve the best possible solution which prevents complications during the implementation of a project and consequently, cost overruns. |
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Director Sempere Cebriàn, Julià |
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Degree IQS SE - Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering |
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Date 2022-06-05
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