Anval proving its worth in Materials Handling
Leveraging its association with the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Western Australia, Anval recently concluded a series of rigorous wear tests on its Rotary Floating Shoe Valve range. These wear tests were conducted by UWA undergraduate and graduate Mechanical Engineers with the assistance of the Anval Engineering team over a period of months.
The RFS range of rotary airlocks and feeders have been around for over ten years and initially produced by Anval’s sister company Ansac. However, in order to conclusively prove the durability of the valve range, it was decided that an objective third party would be invited to conduct the wear tests and author the final technical paper on the results. Whilst the final wear trials occurred in June this year, completion of the peer review process has only just concluded.
The testing focussed on the ceramic and cast iron interface that is unique to the RFS range of valves. The ceramic ‘tipped’ rotors have been designed to always maintain contact with the cast iron floating shoe to ensure an adequate seal between the inlet and outlet flange. This interface is obviously subjected to wear as the rotor rotates through normal operation. The amount of wear and the rate of the interface wear has then been microscopically analysed by the combined team of engineers from UWA and Anval.
After extensive testing of the interface and subjecting it to many types of materials flowing through the valve, Anval was able to establish accurate data in order to confirm the low wearing properties of the material selection utilising ceramics and cast iron as a dynamic seal face. Utilising UWA’s tribology laboratory, the engineering team was able to microscopically view the self lubricating nature of the interface and the intended purpose of the sacrificial cast iron floating shoe.
The final report has proven that the ceramic tipped rotor in contact with the hardened cast iron shoe, allows the rotary feeder to efficiently traverse all manner of materials with a minimum of wear. Therefore, the RFS can be used to transport even the most aggressive product and still have a lifecycle of years instead of months.
“The results are as we predicted” explained Sean McCoy, sales manager for Ansac and Anval within Australia. “We always knew the RFS was a far more durable unit than a standard rotary valve, and now we have the data and report to prove it”.
