Air cannons, also known as pneumatic clog clearers or air impactors, are devices that use the powerful impact force generated by the instantaneous release of compressed air to clear blockages and promote material flow.
The working principle is simple and efficient: the high-pressure gas rapidly expands and releases in a closed container to form a shock wave, which directly acts on the blocked material to quickly clear and prevent material accumulation. Air cannons have been widely used in many industrial fields such as mining, metallurgy, chemicals, and building materials due to their advantages of no mechanical wear, easy operation, and low maintenance costs.
Application background: steel silos
As an important part of the basic building materials industry, the cement industry has crucial raw material storage and transportation links. As the main storage equipment for bulk materials such as cement clinker, fly ash, etc., steel silos have the advantages of large capacity, high strength, and a short construction period. However, in actual use, due to factors such as material properties, storage conditions, and improper operation, problems such as material hardening, wall hanging, and blockage often occur in steel silos. These problems affect material flow and silo operational efficiency, and may even cause accidents. Therefore, finding effective means to solve these problems is of great significance to ensure the continuity of cement production and improve economic benefits.
Analysis of clean loading requirements
As environmental protection regulations become increasingly stringent and the cement industry’s requirements for cleaner production increase, clean loading has become an indispensable part of cement steel silo management. Clean loading not only requires reducing dust pollution during the loading and unloading process of materials, but also ensures smooth flow of materials and avoids blockage and material accumulation to maintain normal operation of equipment and reduce maintenance costs. Due to its unique cleaning mechanism, air cannons have become an ideal choice to achieve clean loading and improve the operating efficiency of steel silos.
Air cannon cleaning mechanism
In the cement steel silo, the air cannon is activated regularly, or on demand, to release high-pressure gas into the blocked area, using the power of shock waves to destroy the adhesion and cohesion between materials, loosen the materials and restore fluidity. This process not only effectively solves the problem of material clogging, but also improves the overall storage efficiency and material quality of the silo by promoting air circulation inside the material, reducing material hardening and hanging on the wall.
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