Lagerung und Transport pulverförmiger Rohstoffe

This Master thesis: „Storage and transport of powered raw materials” resulted in cooperation with a manufacturing company and is intended to support the conceptual development of a new in-plant transport system from dry mixing equipment to production facilities, which manufacture welding additives. The supply of the production unit with powdery raw materials requires an understanding of the fundamentals of bulk solids mechanics. Therefore, flow properties of bulk solids and their measuring methods, methods for the calculation of hopper inclination and minimum size of the outlet opening, frequently occurring handling problems with bulk materials and dust characteristics have been explained. A further theoretical part deals with in-plant transports. The most important clues regarding the construction of a transport system have been explained. Furthermore, the classification of in-plant transport equipment as well as their capabilities, strengths and weaknesses have been described. Power-and-Free conveyors, Electric Monorail Systems (EMS) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) have been specified according to their design, functionality, advantages and disadvantages. The practical part of this thesis describes the current situation and the relevant processes of the production units, analyses of production data and maping the transport flows. Volumes, weight and throughput are taken into account when designing the transport bin and determining the expected number of required transport bins. The possible variants for the inclination of a hopper and the hopper outlet size are worked out, based on the results of the shear test. Finally the selection criteria for in-plant transport equipment have been defined and the possible course of the transport route have been described.