Tunnel Feeders regulate aggregate stockpiles
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The transition of material from stockpile to belt conveyor is an integral part of moving aggregate material from inventory to the next step in the industrial process. The headload created by the large amounts of material in a stockpile can overwhelm a belt conveyor bringing production to a halt. This is why companies turn to tunnel feeders to control this transition and regulate the flow of material from the stockpile onto belt conveyors.

A customer reached out to JVI in need of three tunnel feeders for transitioning limestone from their stockpiles to a belt conveyor connecting the material to downstream equipment. Having worked with the customer on a previous tunnel feeder project JVI was able to develop a package of custom tunnel feeders to meet their exact requirements. This package included three electromechanical pan feeders that featured:

Tunnel Feeder Single Mass Design

Single Mass Vibratory Design

Tunnel Feeder with Electromechanical Motors

Dual Electromechanical Motors

Tunnel Feeder with Replaceable Wear Liners

Replaceable Wear Liners

  • Single Mass Vibratory Design: The pan feeders utilize a single mass vibratory design that reduces the number of components when compared to traditional dual-mass designs. The reduced number components improve reliability increasing operating life of the feeder. The single mass design also eliminates the need for tuning. This enables the feeders to continue to operate through weight changes that stockpiled material over a feeders will encounter.

  • Electromechanical Motors: Electromechanical motors were selected for their proven performance high volume continuous discharge applications.

  • Replaceable Wear Liners: To address the high volume and abrasion from the limestone, replaceable bolt on AR wear liners were added to the bottom and sidewalls of the pan. These liners provide a layer of protection for the feeder from the material further increasing its operating life.

  • Custom Sizing: The feeders were custom sized to the work envelope within the tunnel taking into consideration the hopper outlet, size constraints of the tunnel, width of the belt conveyor and the belts capacity.

  • Adjustable Feed Rate / Automation: The use of electromechanical motors in combination with the single mass design enable the feed rate of the feeders to be adjusted with the customer’s variable frequency drive (VFD). This gives the customer the ability to automate the feeder’s feed rate based on downstream equipment feedback.

This package provides reliable, low-maintenance vibratory tunnel feeders that address the unique requirements of the aggregate stockpiles. The feeders were approved and JVI began the manufacturing process. Today the vibratory tunnel feeders are integrated into the process providing reliable, low maintenance feeding of limestone onto a belt conveyor for downstream equipment.

If you have a bulk material application and are looking to improve your processes contact JVI today! Our team has over 30 years’ experience in providing custom designed solutions that optimize bulk material handling processes.

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