A company using AKO Pinch Valves have a large wash plant where materials such as concrete, tarmac, soil, stones and clay are recycled. A cleaning process takes place at the wash plant to remove silt, soil, clay and dirt from the products. This process results in the end product being 3 grades of aggregates and fill sand.
Pinch Valves used within this application: VM020.03X.70.80
VM model, air operated, PVC body, POM plastic BSP threaded ends, natural rubber sleeve.
Valve for Agreggates Application Details
Product: Slurry – Silt/Clay/Water
Temperature: Ambient
Pinch Valve is Normally Open.
Amount of Cycles per day: Every 30 seconds, 960 per day.
A degree of vacuum is used.
5 BAR air pressure is used to close the Pinch Valve for aggregates.
How The Wash Plant Works
The chamber sucks the product through the tube to take a sample of the product. Silt falls to the bottom of the chamber, triggering two sensors. Once the water is clear, the chamber then dispenses the water back through the Pinch Valve.
On this plant, solenoids and regulators are also used.
Valve for Aggregates Sleeve Lifetime
This particular wash plant have been using the AKO Pinch Valve for aggregates for 4 years. So far, the sleeve inside the valve (product code M020.03X) has been replaced after 3 years. We advised the user to reduce the closing pressure from 5 BAR to 3 BAR to increase the lifetime of the sleeve even further.
The user of the Pinch Valve on site describes his overall satisfaction of the Pinch Valve for aggregates as ‘brilliant’, and says that the replacement of the sleeve is surprisingly easy. He uses lubricant paste from AKO when fitting a new sleeve.
Even though the aggregate materials in this application are coarse and abrasive, the natural rubber sleeve is very good at handling abrasive solids. The sleeve also closes in the same shape every time, which ensures its lifetime is as long as possible.