The determination of pneumatic conveying characteristics of chickpea

Authors: AHMET KILIÇKAN, METİN GÜNER

Abstract: The pneumatic conveying characteristics of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) of the variety Koçbasi were determined. The length, width, thickness, arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, volume, 1000 seed mass, bulk density, true density, porosity, projected area, terminal velocity, drag coefficient, pressure drop, power consumption, and seed damage, namely mechanical damage, germination test, and seed vigour index, were investigated experimentally. The positive low pressure system was used for the conveying of chickpeas. The power requirement and pressure drop were boosted with increasing the revolution of the blower and conveying capacity decreased with increasing pipe diameter. The highest pressure drop and power requirement were obtained for 54.5 mm pipe diameter, while the lowest pressure drop was found for 70.3 mm pipe diameter. The mechanical damage to the chickpeas for both pipe diameters increased as the revolution of the blower increased.

Keywords: Pneumatic conveying, positive low pressure system, chickpea, blower

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