AVA"s Large Flaps
Hight Throughput in Batch Operation
When batch mixers and batch dryers are designed, the possible throughput is defined by the cycle time, which in turn is defined by the periods of feeding, the actual mixing or drying, as well as discharging. The feeding time may be defined easily in the case of pneumatic conveying, for instance, also for specifically lightweight products containing small particles. The mixing or drying period may be defined by means of trials in laboratory scales. The period of discharge, however, is not that easy to define: Lightweight products, moved by the running agitator, tend to circulate within the container instead of finding their way to the standard discharge flaps.
In this regard, AVA does not take any risks but works with spacious dimensioning.
In one specific case, a very lightweight product with a bulk density of only 0.12 kg/m3 and particle sizes of two- to three-digit micrometers kept being circulated for minutes in a competitor‘s machine during the discharging procedure.
Even after more than 15 minutes, the product had not been discharged sufficiently through the two discharge flaps, even though they both were the size of a sheet of standard writing paper.
On a regular basis, large amounts of product had to be discharged by hand, which was extremely time-consuming – the machine was inefficient.
AVA has designed a single enormous discharge flap which reaches over the major length of the machine. During the discharge procedure, the agitator runs on low rotation speed: the lightweight product is not whirled up. The shovels push the product over the machine‘s base with its opened large flap, thus supporting the product‘s tendency to find it‘s way to the exit due to gravity.
The AVA machine discharges completely within one minute. Without any manual labor.
