Measurement of the deposit formation during pneumatic transport of polydisperse PMMA powder

TL;DR

This study investigates how deposits form during pneumatic transport of polydisperse PMMA powder, analyzing the effects of flow conditions and pipe materials to improve industrial safety.

Contribution

Introduces a new experimental setup to analyze deposit formation of powder flows and quantifies deposit fractions under various operational parameters.

Findings

Deposit patterns depend on flow Reynolds number and powder loading.

Pipe material influences deposit formation.

Ambient conditions affect particle deposition rates.

Abstract

Deposits which form during the pneumatic transport of particles are a frequent source of explosions in industrial facilities. Thus, to contribute to the operational safety of industrial plants, we explore the deposit formation of powder flows with our new experimental test-rig. To this end, the particle flow was analyzed optically using a square-shaped transparent pipe as a measuring section. We characterized the deposit pattern and quantified the fraction of particles that deposit depending on the flow conditions. The parameters under consideration included the flow Reynolds number, the powder loading, the duct material, and the ambient conditions (temperature, humidity). More specifically, we investigated the transport of polydisperse PMMA particles through pipes made of PMMA and PC.