How it works
Pneumatic conveying moves bulk solids by entraining them in a flowing gas through a pipe. The gas drags the particles along; each particle lags the gas slightly (a near-constant slip), and the suspension’s behavior depends on the gas velocity relative to the particles’ tendency to settle. Above a critical velocity the solids stay suspended and travel in dilute phase; too slow and they drop out and slide along the bottom (saltation), risking blockage. Moving the solids costs pressure: the gas itself has wall friction, the solids must be accelerated up to speed, lifted against gravity on inclines, and they rub against the wall and each other; every bend adds a further loss as the solids are re-accelerated after impact.
The total pressure drop along the line is what sizes the blower and sets the conveying capacity. It rises with solids loading, line length, number of bends, and gas velocity — so design is a balance between enough velocity to keep solids suspended and not so much that pressure drop, energy, attrition, and erosion run away.
The model
Dyssol Pro models the conveying line as a sequence of pipe and bend sections — each with its length, diameter, slope, and bend angle — and computes the pressure drop needed to move the solids through it, given the inlet and outlet pressures, at every operating point of the flowsheet.
From the gas flow and the solids-to-gas loading it estimates the gas velocity along the line and adds up the individual pressure-drop contributions — gas wall friction, accelerating the solids up to speed, lifting them on inclines, particle–wall and interparticle friction, and the extra loss where solids are re-accelerated after every bend — using standard friction correlations. The output is the total pressure drop and its breakdown, which is what sizes the blower and sets the conveying capacity.
It is a dilute-phase (suspended-flow) description, so it applies to lean, high-velocity conveying rather than dense-phase slug flow. On this basis Dyssol Pro covers pressure and vacuum conveying lines of any pipe-and-bend routing, and behavior beyond the standard description can be brought into the flowsheet.
Equipment this model can represent
Any gas-entrained transport of bulk solids through a pipe-and-bend line.
Dilute-phase (lean) conveying
High velocity, low solids loading; simple and common.
Dense-phase conveying
Low velocity, high loading; gentler on product, less attrition.
Pressure (push) systems
Blower upstream, conveying from one source to many destinations.
Vacuum (pull) systems
Suction from many sources to one destination.
Typical engineering studies
What teams investigate with the pneumatic-conveying model.
Pressure-drop prediction
Predict the pressure drop of a conveying line for a given layout, gas flow, and solids loading.
Routing comparison
Compare pipe routings (length, diameter, bends, inclines) on pressure drop.
Blower sizing
Provide the conveying pressure drop to size a blower or check an existing system’s capacity.
Gas-handling coupling
Couple to upstream feeders and a downstream cyclone/filter in a gas-handling flowsheet.
Loading vs. velocity
Study how solids loading and gas velocity trade off against pressure drop.
Technical FAQ
How do I design a pneumatic conveying system for powder?
You choose dilute or dense phase, set a gas velocity that keeps the powder suspended, and lay out the line to keep pressure drop within the blower’s range. Dyssol Pro computes the pressure drop for a candidate layout and gas flow, so you can iterate pipe sizing, routing, and velocity against the available pressure before finalizing the design.
Why is my pneumatic transport line clogging?
Clogging usually means the gas velocity dropped below the saltation velocity, so solids settled and bridged. Dyssol Pro computes the gas velocity and pressure drop along the line, so you can check whether velocity stays above the suspension threshold and find where it falls short.
How can I reduce particle breakage during pneumatic conveying?
Breakage comes from impacts at bends and high velocity, reduced by lower velocity (dense phase) and gentler bends. Dyssol Pro computes the gas velocity and the bend layout that drive it, so you can choose a lower-velocity design that still conveys the solids reliably.
What is the difference between dilute phase and dense phase conveying?
Dilute phase uses high velocity and low loading with solids fully suspended; dense phase uses low velocity and high loading, moving solids as slugs — gentler but needing more pressure. Dyssol Pro’s model works on the dilute-phase basis, so it applies directly to suspended-flow, high-velocity conveying lines.
How do I calculate pressure drop in pneumatic transport?
Pressure drop is the sum of gas friction, solids acceleration, lift, interparticle friction, and bend losses. Dyssol Pro computes exactly this breakdown from your pipe-and-bend layout, gas flow, and solids loading, returning the total and each component.
How can I prevent powder buildup in conveying pipes?
Build-up is settled material from too-low velocity or sticky powder. Dyssol Pro computes the gas velocity along the line, so you can keep it above the suspension threshold and prevent the solids from dropping out.
How does air velocity affect product degradation?
Higher air velocity raises impact energy and attrition or degradation, especially at bends. Dyssol Pro relates the gas flow to velocity and pressure drop, so you can study the lowest velocity that still conveys reliably and thereby limits degradation.
How do bends and pipe length affect pneumatic conveying performance?
Each bend adds a re-acceleration loss and length adds friction, both raising pressure drop. Dyssol Pro models pipes and bends explicitly with their lengths, diameters, and angles, so you can quantify how routing choices change the total pressure drop.
How can I reduce dust generation during pneumatic conveying?
Dust comes from attrition during transport, reduced by gentler, lower-velocity conveying. Dyssol Pro computes the gas velocity along the line, so you can design a lower-velocity route, and you can couple a downstream cyclone or filter to capture the dust that forms.
How do I model solids flow in a pneumatic transport system?
Solids flow is governed by the gas velocity relative to the particles, which lag the gas by a roughly constant slip, together with the solids-to-gas loading ratio and the pipe-and-bend layout. Dyssol Pro computes exactly these quantities — gas velocity, solids loading, and the resulting pressure drop — from your defined pipe-and-bend system, so you can quantify the flow rather than infer it.
How can I prevent electrostatic charging in pneumatic conveying?
Electrostatic build-up comes from particle–wall tribocharging during transport, aggravated by dry gas and insulating pipe. It is controlled by bonding and grounding all conductive parts, raising the gas humidity, and adding antistatic agents or conductive liners.
Why is my pneumatic conveying system consuming too much air?
Excess air use means the velocity (and thus gas flow) is higher than needed for reliable suspension. Dyssol Pro lets you study the minimum gas flow that keeps solids suspended at acceptable pressure drop, pointing to a leaner air rate.
How do I select a blower for pneumatic transport?
The blower must deliver the gas flow at the system’s total pressure drop. Dyssol Pro computes that pressure drop for your line and loading, giving the operating point the blower must meet — the blower selection itself is then a straightforward match.
What causes saltation in pneumatic conveying lines?
Saltation occurs when gas velocity drops below the value needed to keep particles suspended, so they fall out. Dyssol Pro computes the gas velocity along the line, so you can keep it above the saltation threshold and identify any low-velocity zones before they cause trouble.
How can I reduce erosion in bends and elbows?
Erosion is driven by particle impacts at bends at high velocity, so it is limited by lowering the velocity and using gentler, longer-radius bends. Dyssol Pro computes the gas velocity and the bend loading that drive it, so you can choose a routing and velocity that ease the wear.
How does particle shape affect pneumatic conveying behavior?
Shape changes drag and saltation velocity, so irregular particles convey differently and need more velocity to stay suspended. Dyssol Pro computes the pressure drop and gas velocity from the bulk flow, so you can study the higher velocity an awkward-flowing powder needs and its cost in pressure.
How do I choose between pressure and vacuum conveying?
Pressure systems suit one-to-many distribution and longer distances; vacuum suits many-to-one and dust-free pickup. Dyssol Pro computes the pressure drop either way (you set inlet/outlet pressures), so you can compare the conveying duty; the source/destination topology drives the final choice.
How can I prevent segregation during pneumatic conveying?
Segregation by size or density happens in dilute flow and at bends, where coarse and fine particles travel at different speeds. It is limited by keeping the flow well suspended, avoiding long horizontal runs where heavier particles lag, and re-mixing the solids downstream of the conveying line.
How do I detect blockages in pneumatic transport lines?
Blockage detection is a monitoring task using pressure and flow sensors. Dyssol Pro predicts the normal pressure drop along the line, providing a baseline that a rising measured pressure can be compared against to flag a developing blockage.
How can I simulate pressure drop and solids loading in pneumatic conveying?
Pressure drop and solids loading follow from the gas flow, the pipe-and-bend geometry, and the solids feed rate — friction, acceleration, lift, and bend losses all scale with these inputs. Dyssol Pro computes this directly: define the pipe-and-bend layout and the gas/solids feed, and it returns the solids loading and the full pressure-drop breakdown, ready to size the system in the flowsheet.