High speed auger venturi system and method for conveying bulk materials

Abstract

An auger venturi conveying system for particulate materials includes a hopper-fed auger conveyor section for transporting the particulate material toward the discharge end of a barrel and a venturi arrangement for non-turbulent mixing of the material transported through the barrel with a pressurized gas flow. The venturi arrangement comprises a plenum chamber surrounding the barrel of the auger conveyor section adjacent the discharge end, a venturi pipe coupled to the plenum chamber having a tapered section leading to a constriction, and a jet member within the venturi pipe coupled to the discharge end of the barrel and extending approximately to the constriction. The outer surface of the jet member cooperates with the interior surface of the tapered section of the venturi pipe to form a narrow annular passage between the plenum chamber and the constriction of the venturi pipe. The venturi pipe is coupled at its other end to a conduit. A gas flow is created in the venturi pipe by introducing a pressurized gas into the plenum chamber. The width of the annular passage is adjusted to obtain a desired pressure difference between the plenum chamber and a region of the conduit adjacent the venturi pipe. Blowback prevention is achieved in the system by providing pressure transducers in the plenum chamber and in the region of the conduit adjacent the venturi pipe, and a controller responsive to the signals from the pressure transducers for reducing the rotational speed of the auger conveyor if the pressure difference falls below a specified value.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.