The Venturi Effect was discovered by Italian physicist Giovanni Battista Venturi who lived between 1746 and 1822. In practice, there were a number of other physicists who were involved in the Venturi Effect but Giovanni… More
Tools Of The Trade: The Rotameter
One of the free services we offer to customers here at EXAIR is our Efficiency Lab. In case you are not familiar here is a brief synopsis. Speak with an Application Engineer about your existing compressed air blowoff/point of use product and that you would like to know how much air it consumes. Fill out the brief survey and send the product you use in to our facility. Let us perform tests on calibrated test equipment to determine the force, flow, and noise level. We will then issue you a report that states what the EXAIR model would best be suited (if applicable) as well as how much compressed air you will be able to save. Order the recommendation and start saving money.
To do these evaluations, we have to have calibrated equipment that is reliable and capable of handling vast range of products we may receive in. For this, we could use a Digital Flowmeter, in some cases that is what has to be done due to large flow rates. For the majority of these though we go old school. We utilize a piece of equipment called a rotameter.
This is a device that is designed to measure the flow rate of a fluid within a closed tube. The inside diameter of the tube is varied which causes the float within the meter to raise or lower. They are calibrated for a specific gas at a given pressure and temperature, most are calibrated for atmospheric conditions, 14.7 psi (1.014 Bar). The meter must be mounted vertically and this is not always best suited for industrial environments.
When testing products the compressed air within the meter is pressurized which means we have to correct the reading for the given pressure, if the temperature is outside of the calibration temp then we must also perform that correction. We do this using a table provided by the manufacturer of the meter or by using the calculations shown to get exact values that may be in between the pressures in the table.
This will allow us to then multiply the Correction Factor by the meter reading and calculate our corrected flow for the point of use device at a given operating pressure and temperature.
Knowing where the values that are measured and calculated come from add validity to the reports and understanding all of the variables that go into reading like this helps to better validate the cost savings that can be seen.
In a pinch, for a field estimation, we can also use these Correction Factors and determine an approximate consumption rate of a device that has been measured at a pressure such as our cataloged 80 psig (5.5 Bar). This can often be done on the fly to help determine the flowrates currently on a system. This can be helpful when troubleshooting, giving estimated simple ROIs, and help justify results and reasons for future purchases of engineered solutions.
If you want to discuss the Efficiency Lab or any of the math behind our calculations, contact any Application Engineer, we can all help out.
Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF
Happy Thanksgiving from EXAIR!
Well…here we are…we made it to the Holiday season of 2020.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of EXAIR to all of you!
Chances are that you may be feeling the same as we do – tired, disoriented, anxious, ready for “normalcy”, etc. A global pandemic, and the changes that have occurred because of it, will have that effect on people. But then again here in the USA, that may be due to an election, but I digress…
Fortunately, Thanksgiving reminds us to take the time to recognize the good things that are happening around us, to be thankful and show gratitude. There have been many studies on gratitude and they have shown, at the least, there is a connection between gratitude and happiness. This Harvard Health article offers good insight about the power of gratitude and a good list of how we may begin to express gratitude ourselves, summarized below:
- Write a thank-you note. – It helps you and helps strengthen your relationships
- Thank someone mentally. – If you don’t have time to write, do this.
- Keep a gratitude journal. – Make it a habit and it turns into a journal.
- Count your blessings. – Recognize good things that have happened
- Pray. – Religious folk can use prayer to grow gratitude
- Meditate. – you can meditate and focus on good things.
Today, I am thankful for music and its relaxing effect. I am grateful for the ability to go hiking and have the sun on my face. Enjoy your days and Happy Thanksgiving.
The EXAIR team
Ph. 1-800-903-9247 1-513-671-3322
EXAIR.com
EXAIR will be closed Nov 26-27, 2020 for Thanksgiving.
Customize Air Knives Specific to Your Application!
EXAIR’s Super Air Knife utilizes a source of compressed air to create a laminar sheet of high velocity air. This supplied compressed air mixes with ambient air that is entrained into the primary airstream. The Super Air Knife entrains ambient air at a rate of 40:1, making it VERY effective in a variety of drying, cleaning, and cooling applications. Available in lengths ranging from 3”-108” and in a variety of different materials of construction, there’s a Super Air Knife available for just about any application. Any time you have product moving along a conveyor that needs to be cleaned, dried, or cooled off, a Super Air Knife is the ideal fit.
The Super Air Knife is available in aluminum, Type 303 & Type 316 stainless steel, as well as in PVDF with Hastelloy bolts for extremely corrosive applications. While there are numerous options available off the shelf ready to ship same day, not all applications can be served by a stock option. Since EXAIR handles all of the manufacturing of these products in our sole facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, we have a great deal of control over the manufacturing process. If your application cannot accept something right off the shelf, we’re constantly producing special customized knives to fit any requirement.
Any of our knives can be manufactured in a special length if a stock length won’t fit in your application. We’ll use the same design and profile and can build it to the precise length you require in order to fit perfectly onto your machine. If the dimensional profile of an existing knife isn’t suitable, we can change that too! The Super Air Knife shown below utilizes a very thin design and has been completely modified to achieve the thinnest overall profile possible.
All Super Air Knives come stock with ¼ NPT air inlets and ¼-20 tapped holes along the bottom that can be used for mounting. Unfortunately, that isn’t always going to work for every application, so we also manufacture specials with custom air inlets as well as additional mounting holes to fit right onto any custom bracket. The photo below shows a modified stainless steel Super Air Knife with additional mounting holes machined onto the end.
Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD
FullStream Liquid Atomizing Nozzles
At EXAIR, we know compressed air, and we’ve been helping customers around the world get the most out of their compressed air systems since 1983. It was only logical that, about ten years ago, we got into using compressed air for liquid atomization. If you’re looking to spray a liquid in a fine mist with a controllable pattern & flow rate, there are many advantages to using compressed air to atomize it:
- Adjustability
- Maximum dispersion
- Optimal, efficient consumption
- Small droplet size
Since their introduction, EXAIR has come to offer 142 distinct models of Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles, and, along the way, we leveraged our engineering, machining, and manufacturing prowess to gain position as an industry leader in liquid spraying. So much so, that, earlier this year, we introduced a spraying product line that doesn’t require compressed air: the FullStream Cone Liquid Atomizing Nozzles. Instead of using the energy of compressed air to effect atomization, these use the energy of the liquid’s pressure and flow to change the continuous stream of liquid flow entering the nozzle into a conical spray as it exits to atmospheric pressure. Here’s how it works:
While Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles maintain their advantage of a smaller droplet size (ours consistently make droplets under 100 microns in size,) there are clear benefits in certain applications to the FullStream Cone Liquid Atomizing Nozzles:
- Higher liquid flow rates
- Increased liquid coverage
- More compact design
These are all important in applications like quenching, cooling, foam breaking, lubricating, degreasing, and sanitizing. All stainless steel construction means they’ll stand up to a variety of chemicals…both in what’s being sprayed, and in the environment in which they’re installed.
If you have a liquid that needs sprayed, EXAIR has an engineered solution. Call an EXAIR Application Engineer today to find out more.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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