A study of pressure drop in pneumatic conveying of rice husk | |
| Author | Singh, Harpal |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.AE-90-03 |
| Subject(s) | Pneumatic machinery Rice hulls |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. AE-90-03 |
| Abstract | This study describes the mechanics of pneumatic conveying of rice husk in horizontal, vertical and inclined pipes. Experiments were carried out using the specifically designed pneumatic conveying system with provision of horizontal, vertical and inclined line configurations. A mechanical device enabled the measurement of dispersed particles density during the conveying operation for determining average solid velocity. Solid — to— air ratios ranging from 0.16 to 2.38 were used. Typical air velocities ranged from 5 to 27 m/s in 54 mm dia GI pipe, 4 to 18 m/s in 68 mm dia pipe and 5 to 17 m/s in 82 mm dia pipe. For a known solid flowrate, the Conveying air velocities were varied and resulting pressure drop gradients measured along with dispersed particle densities. In addition, the physical properties of rice husk such as moisture content, bulk and particle densities, size — weight distribution and terminal velocity of different size fractions were determined. The pressure drop data were analyzed by considering first the solid — air mixture and then the solids alone. Mathematical relationships were developed for estimating pressure drop gradients in horizontal, vertical and inclined conveying pipe lines. The effects of conveying pipe inclination on pressure drop gradients were quantified leading to the development of generalized correlations for estimating pressure drop for different inclination of the conveying pipe. The difference between the conveying air and solid particle velocities remained almost constant in all tests and appeared to be close to the mass — mean terminal velocity of the rice husk. A detailed analysis Of published experimental data led to the development of generalized relationships for estimating pressure drop and conveying air velocity in pneumatic conveying of agricultural and other materials. The estimated values of pressure drop and air velocities in pneumatic conveying of rice husk based on the developed relationships were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data, indicating their usefulness in design work. |
| Year | 1990 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. AE-90-03 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Jindal, V. K.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Mora, J. C.;Ilangantileke, S. G.;Athapol Noomhorm; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Australia; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1990 |