Rota Val, Chippenham, UK, has recently introduced a new range of blowing seal rotary valves which have been designed to solve the problem of maintaining the air velocity between the valve and the conveying pipe whilst still achieving a good rotor pocket purge.  Company design engineers believe they have found the answer by employing computational fluid dynamics software in conjunction with a standard CAD package to determine the profile that would guarantee minimum pressure loss and maximum pocket purge. 

This has resulted in minimal drop in air velocity during conveying plus a smoother air flow through the valve which helps ensure enhanced rotor life and efficient pocket purging. This in turn leads to extended valve life because high velocity wear erosion is reduced by more uniform air flow. Pocket purging helps achieve further efficiency by reducing risk of product lodgement and thus product contamination, vital where hygiene is a priority. With this software, Rota Val can provide in-house analysis of a customer’s prospective system at the design stage which means that the system designer will know in advance how it will perform. www.rotaval.co.uk 

 

 

The yellow band indicates 23m/s air velocity in the conveying pipe; the critical green area shows 21m/s through the valve – just a 2m/s drop in air velocity, which is exceptional; it also shows that the rotor pocket is being thoroughly purged