Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1212417
42 / March 2020 powderbulk.com Case history | Company cures cement powder flow issues with fluidizers PBE A ready-mix plant installed fluidizers to eliminate production stoppages. J ackson Concrete, West Bend, WI, dealt with some rough winters at its ready-mix con- crete plant. Being in Wisconsin, the brutally cold winters pre- sented an annual problem that held the company back from optimal production efficiency. "Our cement silo would back up when the air pads that supplied aeration backed up," says Jackson Concrete owner John Meyer. "We would have to stop production at our busiest times and send some- one up to pound on the sides of the silo to free the cement." The air pads provided some air- flow through a felt pad with a screen on the inside. The felt pad would wear down and hardened due to the moisture created with the move from the warm air inside the build- ing to the cold air in the silo. The backup would happen at least once a year during high pro- duction times, and the air pads would be changed every off-season (winter), which was a labor-intensive and potentially dangerous job. The company had to completely empty the silo and replace the air pads, los- ing production at critical times. Jackson Concrete relocated the plant to a fully enclosed facility and, in the process, decided it was time to fix the issue with their two silos. One silo is partially inside and stands out of the ceiling about 30 feet, and a second silo is com- pletely outside. In the midst of one of the shut- downs, Meyer was talking to the company's bulk tanker driver about the problem. The driver pointed out that the fluidizers on the trailer emptied the material load every Jackson Concrete has two silos at its Wisconsin ready-mix facility. One silo is partially outside and the other is entirely outside. To prevent work stoppages caused by damaged air pads, Jackson Concrete installed new fluidizers, which were installed using the same holes that the air pads once used.