Pipe bends protected by the material they carry

Problem: . Even breakfast cereal, when transported at high speed, can erode its way through bends in steel pipes in a remarkably short period of time. Truly hard, wear resistant materials can resist abrasion to some extent, but even these erode in time, with the added complication that the abraded material inevitably contaminates the material being transported. Solution: The Italian company GVF components, based in Modena, makes anti-wear bends in which the outside of the bend is protected by an accumulation of some of the material being transported. The bend Sand-OS has an expander zone pocket closed by a port that makes the devices dual purpose. If the port is blanked off, the material accumulates in front of the plate, and protects metal on the outside of the bend from wear. Should the bend require cleaning out, perhaps because different material is to be conveyed through the system, removal of the blanking plate allows easy access. Alternatively the end cap can be removed, and a pinch valve installed on each of the unit's two outlets, allowing the unit to be used as a diverter valve to load storage vessels. The devices are made in two types of cast iron with different hardnesses and in the UK are available from agents JL Controls, based in Titchfield in Hampshire. Bends are available in pipe internal diameters from 65mm (2 1/2 inch) to 129mm (5 inch). Applications: These include the pneumatic transportation of sand, magnesite, bentonite, zirconium, cement, calcium carbonate, feldspar, iron oxide, kaolin and resins. TS GVF Components JL Controls email to JL Controls