A system for conveying pasty material through a conduit has an eccentric screw pump having a stator, a rotor that rotates in the stator, a housing with an intake port, and an output port connected to the conduit. A drive rotates the rotor and thereby draws the pasty material in through the intake port and expels the drawn-in material as a compressed-material strand into the conduit. A valve supplies gas pulses to the conduit at time intervals for separating the compressed-material strand into material plugs of limited length traveling through the conduit.

A method of forming a compact includes removing material from a workpiece, transferring metallic dust released during the material removal into a conduit, operating a plurality of slide gates to selectively control movement of the dust from the conduit to either one of a primary collector and a back-up collector, drawing the dust through the conduit to a compactor, and compacting the dust in the compactor.

A feed system includes a wear pad and one or more hold downs. The wear pad is operable to provide a seal over at least one pressure port and at least one corresponding material port of a feed wheel. The wear pad is in fluid communication with a pneumatic supply operable to provide pneumatic gas to the pressure port to discharge material from the material port. The hold downs are operable to apply pressure against the wear pad such that the hold downs provide consistent, equal pressure to the wear pad against the feed wheel.

A feed wheel is provided that includes a body, a plurality of material ports formed in the body, and a plurality of outer pressure ports formed in the body. The body is operable to rotate about a central axis. The material ports are operable to receive material. The outer pressure ports are positioned radially outward in relation to the material ports. Each of the outer pressure ports is operable to receive pressurized gas when in registration with a pneumatic supply as the body rotates about the central axis. Each of the outer pressure ports are in fluid communication with a corresponding material port such that when an outer pressure port receives the pressurized gas, the pressurized gas discharges the material from the corresponding material port s out of the top surface of the body.

A feed wheel is provided that includes a body, a plurality of material ports formed in the body, and a plurality of outer pressure ports formed in the body. The body is operable to rotate about a central axis. The material ports are operable to receive material. The outer pressure ports are positioned radially outward in relation to the material ports. Each of the outer pressure ports is operable to receive pressurized gas when in registration with a pneumatic supply as the body rotates about the central axis. Each of the outer pressure ports are in fluid communication with a corresponding material port such that when an outer pressure port receives the pressurized gas, the pressurized gas discharges the material from the corresponding material port s out of the top surface of the body.

A system includes a processor. The processor estimates a pattern of a flow of a mixture of drilling fluid and cuttings in an annulus of a wellbore. The flow is estimated as a stationary bed flow, a dispersed flow, or a transitional flow relative to the stationary bed and dispersed flows. The processor estimates parameters based on the estimated pattern of the flow, and determines a plurality of dimensionless parameters including a first dimensionless parameter corresponding to an effect of turbulence on the flow and a second dimensionless parameter corresponding to an effect of gravity on the flow, based on the estimated parameters. The processor characterizes the pattern of the flow as the stationary bed flow, the dispersed flow, or the transitional flow, based on the dimensionless parameters, and models the flow based on the estimated pattern if it is determined that the characterized pattern matches the estimated pattern.

An apparatus for collecting dust from a cutting unit is provided. The apparatus includes a rotary valve operatively connected to the cutting unit, a conduit in fluid communication with the rotary valve, and a compacting machine disposed downstream from the conduit and configured to receive dust from the conduit. A blower is configured to pull air downstream to carry the dust into the compacting machine. The compacting machine produces a compact from the dust.

A conveying system for conveying a conveyable material from a hopper where the system includes a fluid port located below the hopper outlet and in a vertical flow path into hopper outlet that can be momentarily opened for an on the go release of a charge of compressed air directly upward into the hopper outlet and into the underside of the bridge in the hopper to either disintegrate or unlock the bridged particles from each other thereby causing the bridged material to fall into the hopper outlet and into the conveying system where the material can be transported to a remote location or to remove any material that may be adhering to the wall during an emptying phase.

A conveying system for conveying a conveyable material from a hopper where the system includes a fluid port located below the hopper outlet and in a vertical flow path into hopper outlet that can be momentarily opened for an on the go release of a charge of compressed air directly upward into the hopper outlet and into the underside of the bridge in the hopper to either disintegrate or unlock the bridged particles from each other thereby causing the bridged material to fall into the hopper outlet and into the conveying system where the material can be transported to a remote location or to remove any material that may be adhering to the wall during an emptying phase.

Powder feed rate control system that includes a hopper adapted to contain a powder and to maintain a hopper pressure. A carrier conduit delivers a carrier gas flow and having an orifice. The carrier gas flow conveys powder entering through the orifice at a powder feed rate. A differential pressure transducer includes a first pressure input associated with the hopper pressure and a second pressure input associated with the carrier gas flow downstream of the hopper. The differential pressure transducer (PT) outputs a signal related to a differential pressure between the first pressure input and the second pressure input. An electro pneumatic regulator (EP) is adapted to communicate with a control and receiving the signal related to the differential pressure.