A Study of Airlift for the Feeder of Solids

Abstract

Some experimental and theoretical studies of airlift, which is used for a feeder of particles in the pneumatic conveyance system are described. The feeding performances are obtained experimentally using several kinds of particles, and pressure losses in airlift are analysed to estimate the power required; which are compared with experimental ones. The drag coefficients of particles in a fully developed turbulent pipe flow are determined experimentally to make an accurate calculation of the pressure losses. The feeding performance of airlift can be represented by formulae using the results of a simple discharge test of particles from a two-dimensional port. The agreement of the calculated pressure losses with experimental ones is quite good when the calculation is made using the drag coefficient of particles obtained in the test.