Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1263839
22 / July 2020 powderbulk.com Case history | Conveying and classifying cork PBE Performance company uses a material handling system to reset the stage before each performance. C irque du Soleil, an entertain- ment and circus company, is known worldwide for its acrobatic theatrics and technically innovative staging. For example, the company's production of KÀ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, uses moving platforms and granu- lated cork to stage a beach scene on the sand cliff deck. Cast members dance in the faux sand until the platform tilts slowly forward and the cork, performers, and props are swept off stage, seemingly into the abyss. In reality, the performers and props land in a circus net, while 250 cubic feet of granulated cork passes through the net and into containers 50 feet below. Because the performers jump, slide, and plunge their faces into the cork, Cirque du Soleil cleans and conditions the material before each show. "We do everything in our power to ensure our acrobats are safe," says Aaron Bush, the daytime lead carpenter at KÀ. To achieve the visual effects while ensuring the safety of its performers, Cirque du Soleil had to begin processing bulk materials, a process most people in the enter- tainment industry are unfamiliar with. The company needed equip- ment to transport and clean large volumes of cork for reuse. To make its vision a reality, Cirque du Soleil turned to Flexicon, a bulk solids handling equipment supplier and manufacturer, for equipment engi- neering support. Cleaning and reusing cork The company requires one batch of cork for two nightly performances. Cleaning the batches requires a team of three: one in the pit, another at the cork cleaning system, and a third at the collection area one floor below. From the pit, cork granules, together with cork dust and any foreign objects, are pneumatically conveyed to a large surge hopper positioned above the cork clean- ing system. As the cork discharges via gravity from the upper hopper through a downspout, the material passes through a permanent magnet that catches any bobby pins, nuts, bolts, or other ferrous material that might have contaminated the cork. The material then flows into the 5-cubic-foot surge hopper of a 10-foot-long flexible screw conveyor. The conveyor has a shaftless screw that rotates within a 4.5-inch poly- mer tube inclined at 45 degrees, which serves to both elevate the material and feed it volumetri- Cirque du Soleil's production of KÀ at the MGM Grand uses a cork cleaning system to remove dust, undersized and oversized particles, and ferrous material. The system includes a screw conveyor, pneumatic conveyor, and other bulk solids handling equipment.