General state diagram for pneumatic conveying

Verification and improvement with the help of operational data from industrial
positive pressure conveying installations
Ing (grad) Manfred Heyde



Content
1 Introduction 1
2 Software 1
3 state diagram for pneumatic conveying 2
operating data of industrial pneumatic conveying e!uipment "
" Improved state diagram and computer program #
"$1 S%etch of the dense phase region 11
& 'neumatic conveying at high temperatures 12
( )eferences 1



1 Introduction
*low +ehaviour of moving +ul% materials, including heat and mass transfer, was descri+ed +y
the author on the +asis of common physical principles -1./

http/00www$epu+li$de0shop0autor0Manfred1Heyde031&2

Many pu+lished measurement results could +e summari3ed with the help of suita+le
algorithms and graphic representations, for e4ample, the mass flow from hoppers, the heat
e4change and the catalytic gas phase reaction in fluidi3ed +eds, the pressure loss and the heat
transfer of tur+ulent flow through pipes, as well as the flow condition and the pressure loss in
pneumatic conveying lines$


2 Software
5 computer program, that includes a data+ase, allows the !uic% and direct use of the
developed algorithms for evaluation and design of processes, apparatuses and e!uipment$ 6his
free software is written in Visual 7asic and runs even under 8indows ( (32 +it)$ It includes
the main results$ 6he german version can +e downloaded from the following lin%/

https/00s%ydrive$live$com0redir$asp49cid:;23#e(2e2f13&dde<resid:23#=(2=2*13&>>=?3;
<auth%ey:s&;r@;MA2f5B2

5 english version of the software can +e downloaded from the following lin%/
https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=0239E78E2F136DDEid=239E78E2F136DDE!21936



2
3 State diagram for pneumatic conveying
6he construction of the universal state diagram, originally used +y the software to calculate
the operating conditions in pneumatic conveying lines, is +ased on the evaluation of data sets
from industrial installations and on the results of a num+er of scientific studies$ 6he used data
sets from industrial conveying installations were pu+lished +y Muschel%naut3 and Cram+roc%
-2. as well as Muschel%naut3 and 8oDahn-3.$

En the a+scissa of the graphic is the well1%nown dimensionless )eynolds num+er )e plotted$
6he ordinate shows another dimensionless e4pression, that comes from a physical model for
the tur+ulent pipe flow -1., and that will +e hereinafter referred to as C1num+er$ C is mainly
formed +y the pressure loss, the length of pipe, the pipe diameter as well as the dynamic
viscosity of the conveying gas$ In the current model represents C the ratio of pipe diameter
and wall1related FMischungsweglGngeF$ 6he diagram is an implicit representation of the
physical parameters, so that for the determination of the pressure loss an iterative calculation
is re!uired$

5s regards the flow conditions which occur, we can distinguish dilute phase with a distinct
state of minimum pressure loss as well as dense phase$ In +etween of these areas there lies a
transitional area with unsta+le flow conditions$ 6he +ul% materials that were conveyed under
dense phase conditions had particle si3es of at most 3"; microns, possi+ly (;; microns$ 6he
ma4imum throughput for dense phase flow was 1#$" 0 h$ In contrast, two systems with
throughputs of 3" t 0 h (soda) and "; t 0 h (fly ash) do not operate in dense phase, +ut on the
+oundary of dilute phase, the so1called cho%e line$ Etherwise, in dilute phase wor%ing
installations are almost e4clusively installed for +ul% solids with particle si3es in mm1range$


6he state diagram shows also, that in dense phase along the lines of e!ual solid throughputs
different operating conditions are possi+le, with corresponding changes in the amount of the
3
gas or the gas velocity as well as the pressure drop$ *or a scale1up the !uestion remains,
which conditions a compara+le operating point of the su+se!uent production line must meet$
5n e4ample for the wide range of variation of the operating conditions can +e found in a
pu+lication +y Cram+roc% -.$ 6his pu+lication also contains a diagram, that represents the
ma4imum possi+le throughput of '= granules as a function of the flow rate and the tu+e
diameter, with the pressure loss as parameter$ 6hese functional relationships are in the state
diagram represented +y the left0upper +oundary line$ 8ith the help of the information of
Cram+roc% the only indicated current +oundary can readily +e precised$




4 operating data of industrial pneumatic conveying systems

6he operating conditions of industrial +ul% solid conveyor lines, that are listed in the
following ta+le, come e4clusively from the +ul%1online *orums/

http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0forumdisplay$php9111'neumatic1Honveying


( ) : calculated values, I : solid 0 gas ratio

Table 1: Operating conditions of industrial installations


(1) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9("1'neumatic1Honveying1of1''

In this installation is the measured pressure loss of ;$3 +ar a+out ;$1 +ar +igger than the calculated
value for the minimum pressure loss in dilute phase$ 6his surplus is surely caused +y the 2 (not
specified) pipe +ends of the conveying line$


(2) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php93321Honveying1of1JJ>'=1Kranules

6hese operating data fit e4tremely well in the scheme of the dense phase, although the particle si3e of
Nr. Produkt dp50
m
L
m
h
m
D
mm
&
M
s

t/h
&
M
g

Nm
3
/h
p
ar
u
m/s

-
1 '' pellets (1) (;;;) 3&$" 1"$2 1"; 1 ca 2;1; ;$3 (3;) (&)
2 JJ>'= Kranules (2) (mm) 1;; 11 3;; &; 11 (;$1) (1;$3) 2;
3 Hement (3) 11 21& ; ca 22" 2" ca &;;; 1$& 11 11
'olycar+onat/
'owder < 'ellets ()
11 0 2";; "; L &; 1" L 2; 1;;012" & 0 ( ca 1(;; 1(;$(3) (32) (3)
" =4panded 'erlite (") 22$" 3"$2 22$3 23 3,22 ca 22; ;$2" 11 (#$3")
& '65 (&) 13; 12; ; 1"; #; 3;;; 2$&& (2($") (2)
( '' 'ellets (() 11 1; 22 (12() 3; ca 2(;; ;$&& (21) (1;)
2 )apeseed (2) 2";; 23; 1; 2;& 12 (2(;;) ;$ (21$") (3$&)
# '=6 Virgin Hhips (#) (M12(;;) ; 2; 2; 1$" (ca "(;) ;$1" (32) (2)
1; Hement (1;) 11 1(& 11 "; ($&3 (233) 3$1" (12) (2&)
11 Spent Hell Jiner (11) 11 2" 11 (( 2$" (23;) (;$3) (13) (#)
12 Hement (12) 11 132 "" 2"; 12; ca 2;; 1$( (1$") (2)
"
this material, in contrast to the fine1grained solids, which are commonly conveyed under such
conditions, lies in millimeter range$ 6here were o+served no general operational pro+lems, e4cept of
vi+rations at pipe +ends, which lead the flow vertically upwards$ In regard to the terminal velocity of
particles with a si3e of mm is the actual gas velocity too low$ So, material can accumulate
themselves in the pipe +ends and possi+ly develop a +ehaviour li%e a pulsating spouting +ed, and thus
generate vi+rations$


(3) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9(;"(1'neumatic16ransport1Hement1'ipeline1'igging

6he operating data of this system offered the opportunity to determine the +oundary of dense flow
more accurately, +ecause the operating conditions are lying e4actly on this line$ *or a gas temperature
of 12" N H and a +ul% solid throughput of 2" t 0 h, the calculation on the +asis of the improved
coordinates (no longer e!ual to those of the original state diagram) yields the following values/ (;&;
%g 0 h for the gas flow and 1$&& +ar for the pressure loss$ In this thread was also an increase to 1;; t 0 h
solids throughput discussedO according to my calculations, however, this re!uires a gas flow of (2&;
%g 0 h at a pressure loss of 1$#2 +ar, for which the installed compressor capacity does not suffice$

() data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php92111#1Increasing1the1Honveying1Hapacity


(") data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php91&3&(1Eptimisation1of1a1'neumatic1Honveying1Jine

5fter the programPs calculation lies the operating point of this installation on the +oundary of dilute
phase, the so1called cho%e line$


(&) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9(2"#1Honveying1of1'65

5fter the calculation lies the operating point of this installation also on the +oundary of dilute phase,
the so1called cho%e line$ 6he operational pressure loss is e!ual to the calculated value, when a
(unconfirmed) gas temperature of #; NH is used$


&
(() data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9(#(1''1'ellet1Honveying1'ro+lem

6his operating point lies close to the so1called cho%e line of the dilute phase$ *or this operation
conditions yields the calculation a slightly smaller gas flow rate and loo%s as follows/




6he average gas velocity is much smaller than for the conveying of '' pellets in the installation Qo$ 1
of 6a+le 1$

(2) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9"&""1'neumatic1Honveying1of1)apeseed

6his is another good e4ample, to verify the calculated results$ *or a +ul% solid throughput of 12 t 0 h
yields the calculation for the condition of minimum pressure loss in dilute phase a value of ;$3& +ar$
6his value lies near the pressure difference of ;$ +ar of the +lower, what the possi+le solids
throughput accordingly limits$


(
(#) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9(#18hy1Is16hroughput1)educed

5s usual for +ul% materials with large particle diameters, the gas velocity is much higher than the
calculated value for the minimum pressure loss in dilute phase/ 32 m0s instead of 1 m0s$ However, the
+ul% solid throughput is too small for such a gas velocity, and I am also of the opinion, that the reason
for this is the poorly functioning material feed$ 6he fan is designed for pressures up to ;$" +ar at a gas
flow rate of (;; m3 0 h and would +e a+le, to handle a much higher +ul% solid throughput$ 6he
calculation result for the current +ul% solid throughput of 1$" t 0 h is as follows/





(1;) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9""#(16ypical1Solids1*riction1*actor1for1Hement

6he calculation results for the cho%e condition on the +oundary of the dilute phase for a (unconfirmed)
gas temperature of 11; N H are identic to the operating data/



2
(11) *or completeness, here are added the operating conditions for the conveying of used, very
a+rasive cell liner/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php9"3(1Jean1'hase1Honveying1of15+rasive1Hell1Jiner

6he information for this system are not complete, However, the calculated pressure loss of 3; %'a for
the cho%ing conditions fits !uite well to the +lower specification of ; or &; %'a$


(12) data set coming from the following +ul%1online thread/
http/00forum$+ul%1online$com0showthread$php93(;#1>eterminining1'neumatic1Honveying1'arameters

6he operating point lies a little left hand from the +oundary of the dense phase$ 6he estimated values
for the parameters C and )e of the state diagram are "; and ";,;;;$ 6he calculation results for gas
flow rate and the pressure drop confirm the assumptions$









#
! Improved state diagram and computer program

6he main concern of the state diagram is the universal and clear presentation of the operating
data of industrial conveying installations with their large num+er of parameters$ *or this
purpose a large num+er of pu+lished data from industry and research was added into the
coordinate system$ 6hey form the s%eleton of the state diagram and reveal the areas of dilute
phase and dense phase conveying as well as their +oundaries$ 6here are three characteristic
conveying states, that lie in the diagram on particular lines$ 6wo of the states are the pressure
loss minimum in dilute phase as well as the +oundary to the transition area, the so1called
cho%ing line$ 6he third one is the +oundary of dense phase on the other side of the transition
area, the position of which was determined +y the aid of the operational data Qo$ 3 in 6a+le 1
more accurately$ *rom the data of dense phase conveying was derived in addition an
estimation for fre!uently used pipe diameters as ratio to the +ul% material throughput$

In order to facilitate the estimation of the si3es of conveying lines, the software helps, as
mentioned, in determining a usa+le pipe diameter$ *urthermore, can +e determined on the
+asis of the design data, the relevant parameters for the three characteristic conveying states$
6he respective values are +eing calculated +y means of simple mathematical e!uations for
the respective straight lines$ *or all other possi+le operating points, the respective parameters
can +e read from the state diagram$ However, the left +order line of the display, which
represents the +oundary of the +ul% solid movement, is only indicated, +ut may +e precised, as
descri+ed a+ove$

*or the calculations of conditions in dilute phase uses the program its default pipe diameter
and corrects the calculation result in the case of deviations from the actual diameter$ 6his
correction has +een found to +e necessary during the recalculation of the used literature data, ,
+ut it is surely not particularly sophisticated$ *or +ul% solids with +ig particles is the gas
velocity in some cases +igger than the velocity at the point of minimum pressure loss in dilute
phase/ for e4ample, 32 m 0 s instead of 21 m 0 s for the installation Qo$ (2$" mm) in 6a+le 1$

In dense phase the operating points are distri+uted over the entire range$ 6his opens up the
possi+ility to draw lines of constant +ul% solids throughput$ Eriginally, the ma4imum +ul%
solid throughput was 1#$" t 0 h$ *ortunately, the installation Qo$ 3 offered the opportunity for
an e4pansion of the throughputs and the accurate determination of the position of the
+oundary of the dense phase region, +ecause this operating point lies e4actly on this line$ 5s
already descri+ed a+ove, yields the calculation on the +asis of the new coordinates (which are
no longer those of the original in the state diagram registered correspond) for a gas
temperature of 12" N H and a +ul% solid flow of 2" t 0 h the following result/ (;&; %g 0 h for
the gas flow and 1$&& +ar for the pressure loss$

Ence again here is the attention +eing focused on the installation Qo$ 2 in 6a+le 1$ 6hese
operating data fit e4tremely well in the scheme of the dense phase, although the particle si3e
of this material, in contrast to the fine1grained solids, which are commonly conveyed under
such conditions, lies in millimeter range$ 6here were o+served no general operational
pro+lems, e4cept of vi+rations at pipe +ends, which lead the flow vertically upwards$ In
regard to the terminal velocity of particles with a si3e of mm is the actual gas velocity too
low$ So, material can accumulate themselves in the pipe +ends and possi+ly develop a
+ehaviour li%e a pulsating spouting +ed, and thus generate vi+rations$
11111111111111111111111111111111
A) In the case of hori3ontal conveyor lines with vertical pipe sections must for the steady
1;
conveying state an e!uivalent length +e used$ *or this, the value for the whole vertical pipe
length is +eing enlarged +y a factor +etween 1$( and 2$;$

5fter the product was fed into the pipeline, and after pipe +ends, the +ul% solids are
accelerated to their terminal velocity$ 6he energy re!uired for this is removed from the air
stream, so that an additional pressure loss occurs, which, in case of short conveying lines, can
+ecome the maDority$ )eference values for the si3e of this additional pressure losses can +e
found in the literature$ 5fter the product feeder in hori3ontal pipelines, for the acceleration of
1 %g of solid per %g of air, depending on the particle diameters, the following pressure losses
are re!uired/ 2"; Q0m2 (dp : 2;;; microns) or ""; Q0m2 (dp : 1;;; microns) -".$ 6hese
values apply to a gas velocity of 2; m 0 s and a particle density of 1;;; %g0m3$

*or the straight up directed conveying of +ul% solids are a+out 1;; Q0m2 re!uired for the
acceleration of 1 %g of solids per %g of air-&.$ 6his value was determined at a gas velocity of
23 m 0 s and for a particle density of 2&;; %g0m3$

6he re!uired pressure losses for the acceleration of the +ul% solids increases itself in general
with decreasing settling velocities of the particles$ 6he reason lies in the fact that smaller or
lighter particles at constant mass flow have higher end
speeds$

In the flow through pipe +ends, the +ul% solid is +y the
centrifugal forces pressed outward and moves along the pipe
wall $ 6his results in increased friction +etween the particles
and the tu+e wall, so that the velocity of the material
decrease$ In the su+se!uent straight pipe line, the solid is then
again accelerated to the speed of the steady state$ In this way,
the pressure loss p
Kr
is generated$

5fter Schuchart -(., the additional pressure drop p
Kr
for
hori3ontal deflections depends on the ratio +etween pipe +end
radius ) and tu+e diameter >$ 6he diagram depicts the related pressure loss for the pipe +end
in relation to the related pressure loss in a straight pipe for air with and without solids loading
dependent of 2) 0 >$ *or the fre!uently used ratio of 1; for 2) 0 > the pressure drop for the
pure air flow is +y a factor of 2 +igger and that of the +ul% solid conveying +y a factor of 1"
+igger than in a straight pipe$ However, it remains unclear, whether the specified ratios can +e
applied to the here for steady conveying conditions calculated pressure losses$ 5n estimation
on the +asis of the calculated and the measured pressure drops of the installation 1 in 6a+le 1,
for which eight +ends have +een given, indicates rather factors half as large or even smaller$
Hertainly, the properties of the particles and the surface conditions of the pipe +ends play also
a role$

AA) In the evaluated data of industrial installations were no evidence of additional influences,
which are dependent of the conveyed +ul% solids$ 6he only relevant parameter is the +ul%
solid throughput$ 5lso could no other physical similarities +e discovered, which are connected
with the +ul% solid properties in some way, and possi+ly e4ist in form of hidden parameters$
=ven the oft1cited solid 0 gas ratio turned out to +e unusa+le$ 5 factor, which is in this conte4t
closest to a parameter, is the +ul% solid throughput related to the cross1sectional area of the
pipe$



"ependence of the pressure loss
ratio on the diameter ratio 2# / "
in hori$ontal pipe ends %&'
11
!(1 S)etch of the dense phase area
6his is the graphic for the dense phase area of the state diagram, which was improved +y
using the here analy3ed operating data $ 6he on the +order to the transition area lying
endpoints of the lines of e!ual +ul% solid throughput were calculated +y the appropriate
modified software program$





12
* +neumatic conveying at high temperatures

Eperating data for industrial pneumatic conveyor lines that are operated at high gas
temperatures are to +e found at the following Internet address/

http/00www$enviro1engineering$de0pdf0InDe%toren7auformenVariantenRnd5nwendungen$pdf

( ) : Halculated values, I : solid 0 gas ratio

,ale 2- .perating data of industrial installations with high gas temperatures


(1) 5s in other installations for the transport of +ul% materials with large particles, the gas
velocity in this conveying line is +y a factor of 1$& higher than those, calculated for the
minimum pressure loss in dilute phase$ 6he e4trapolation from the calculated operating point
of minimum pressure loss gives values of 1;; ;;; and 2" for the parameters )e and C$ 6he
calculation results loo% li%e this$





Nr. Product dp50
m
L
m
h
m
D
mm
&
M
s

t/h
&
M
g

Nm
3
/h
p
ar
u
m/s

-
1 5sh (1) 0 2; NH ;13;;; 2; 2" 2; ;$& ca 3"; (;$1) (23$&) (ca 1$")
2 5sh (2) 0 2";NH ;11;;; 11 1" 1(2 &$" ca ("; (;$133) (1&$") &$"
3 Hement (3) 0 12" NH 11 21& ; ca 22" 2" ca &;;; 1$& 11 11
13
(2) 6he data of this conveying system descri+e the operating condition at a gas temperature
of 2"; N H, which due to a longer cooling period of the ash under the actual operating
temperature of "; N H lies$ 6he measured ash throughput of &$" t 0 h is assessed as +eing
surprisingly high$ 6he calculation for this condition results in a pressure loss of ;$133 +ar at a
gas flow of appro4imately 1;;; %g 0 h$


6he following calculation results descri+e now the situation at the actual operating
temperature of "; N H and at the same pressure loss$ 6he gas flow rate lies at a+out #;; %g 0
h, while the ash throughput at this gas temperature is reduced to a value of 3";; %g 0 hO this
value corresponds e4actly to the design conditions of the conveying line$




(3) 6his is once again the installation Qo$ 3 of 6a+le 1 with the corresponding interpretation/ 6he
operating data of this system offered the opportunity to determine the +oundary of dense flow more
accurately, +ecause the operating conditions are lying e4actly on this line$ *or a gas temperature of
12" N H and a +ul% solid throughput of 2" t 0 h, the calculation on the +asis of the improved
coordinates (no longer e!ual to those of the original state diagram) yields the following values/ (;&;
%g 0 h for the gas flow and 1$&& +ar for the pressure loss$ In this thread was also an increase to 1;; t 0 h
solids throughput discussedO according to my calculations, however, this re!uires a gas flow of (2&;
%g 0 h at a pressure loss of 1$#2 +ar, for which the installed compressor capacity does not suffice$

1
& #eferences
-1. Heyde, M$/ *luidisieren von SchSttgStern$ epu+li Km+H, 7erlin, 2;11$ IS7Q #(2131221
12(;1#$
-2. Muschel%naut3, =$O und 8$ Cram+roc%/ Vereinfachte 7erechnung hori3ontaler
pneumatischer *Trderleitungen +ei hoher Kut+eladung mit fein%Trnigen 'arti%eln$ Hhem$1
Ing$16ech$ 1(1#&#)21, S$11&111(2$
-3. Muschel%naut3, =$O und H$ 8oDahn/ V>I18Grmeatlas 1#(3, Cap Jh$
-. Cram+roc%, 8$/ >ichtstromfTrderung$ Hhem$1Ing$16ech$ "(1#22)#, S$(#312;3$
-". Siegel, 8$/ V>I1*orschungsheft "32/ =4perimentelle Rntersuchung 3ur pneumatischen
*Trderung %Trniger Stoffe in waagerechten )ohren und U+erprSfung der
Vhnlich%eitsgeset3e$ >Ssseldorf/ V>I1Verlag, 1#(;$
-&. Cer%er, J$/ >ruc%verlust und 'arti%elgeschwindig%eit +ei der verti%alen Kas1*eststoff1
StrTmung$ vt Fverfahrenstechni%F 11(1#(()#, S$"#1""#$
-(. Schuchart, '$/ 8iderstandsgeset3 +eim 6ransport in )ohr%rSmmern$ Hhem$1Ing$16ech$
;(1#&2)21022, S$1;&;11;&($