Pneumatic tube systems for sample cartridges (or shuttles)
A typical sample transport solution employs pneumatic tube systems in which sample cartridges (or shuttles) carry 200-550 cc dry powder/granulate sample portions from the sampling location to the laboratory. For steel/metals samples ("lollipops" or similar) a special cartridge type with a clamping device is employed. One or more rotary blowers integrated in the tube network generates a slight over- or under-pressure, which allows the cartridges to move at transport speeds, typically between 8 and 20 metres per second. The systems often service several sampling points from several relevant process departments. The equipment solutions available from FLSmidth ranges from manually-serviced dispatch stations located at the process and the lab end to fully-automated and integrated solutions. In the latter case, sample portions are automatically transferred from the sampling equipment or the "in-process" sample preparation equipment and filled into the sample cartridges at the process end. At the lab end, powder/granulate type sample portions are automatically dosed into one or more sample cups for further onwards preparation and analysis, while steel/metals type samples are released from the clamping device and transferred to the relevant piece of preparation equipment. In the steel and metals industry the requirements for very rapid sample analysis are met by so-called "point-to-point" tube connections allowing multiple parallel sample transport. In other industries, e.g. a cement application one tube line with a number of tube diverters often services several sampling points.
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