The invention relates an extrusion device (100) for extruding a semi¬finished product made of elastomeric material, comprising an extrusion body (10) extending along a feeding direction (A) and a pump (20) arranged downstream of the extrusion body (10) along said feeding direction (A). The extrusion body (10) comprises a hopper (30) for loading an elastomeric material and an extrusion screw (50) extending along said feeding direction (A) and having an inlet portion (50a) arranged close to the hopper (30) and an exit portion (50b) arranged close to the pump (20). The extrusion body (10) also comprises a motorised roller (40) arranged at the inlet portion (50a) of the extrusion screw (50) and configured to receive the elastomeric material from the hopper (30) and feed it to the extrusion screw (30). The extrusion screw (50) has a length and a diameter such that the ratio between length and diameter is comprised between 4 mm and 8 mm. The invention also relates to an extrusion process carried out through the aforementioned extrusion device (100).

A pump for high viscosity materials is mounted on a rectangular frame that fits through a standard doorway. Quick detach latches allow removal of the grate, the hopper or the console, including the control box, from the frame for safer and lighter transportation of the pump. Extendable handles facilitate lifting, moving, and storing the pump. Pivotable wheels with locking mechanisms allows the pump to be moved in any direction by a single user.

In accordance with presently disclosed embodiments, systems and methods for using one or more pre-filled, portable containers, instead of pneumatic transfer, to move bulk material from a transportation unit to a blender receptacle of a blender are provided. A transportation unit may deliver one or more containers of bulk material to the well site, where the containers may be disposed in an elevated position around the blender receptacle. A gravity feed outlet may extend from one or more containers to route bulk material from the one or more containers directly into the blender receptacle. Since the transportation unit is able to unload the portable containers of bulk material without pneumatic transfer, the stackable containers may enable a cleaner and more efficient bulk material transfer at the site.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for passively reducing or preventing dust formation in a particulate handling system are provided. In some embodiments, the handling system includes a silo for holding bulk material used to form a well fracturing treatment fluid. The silo may include a chute to deposit a portion of the bulk material from the silo into a blender and a cyclone mounted to the silo to separate dust from a pneumatic air flow and to release a substantially clean air into the atmosphere. In other embodiments, the handling system may include a horizontally oriented cyclone assembly mounted to a blender storage tank, cyclone assembly including a horizontally oriented cyclone separator to separate dust from a pneumatic airflow and a dust collection container to receive the dust and output the dust into the storage tank.

Techniques or processes for efficiently producing concrete using dynamic feedback are disclosed. A concrete plant can use a control system to manage concrete production based on the dynamic feedback. The dynamic feedback can control mixing of concrete ingredients so as to yield uniform particle distribution for the concrete ingredients. The dynamic feedback can also avoid overflow situations as well as yield improved loading of the resulting concrete into a concrete transport vehicle (e.g., concrete truck).

A material wetting system for wetting a powder material includes a liquid supply system, a material mixing unit, a material supply system, and a shroud assembly. The liquid supply system includes a supply line. The material mixing unit is in fluid communication with the supply line and includes a central cavity having an open upper end configured to receive a supply of powder material. The material mixing unit is configured to receive liquid from the supply line and is operatively connected to a reduced pressure source to draw air into the central cavity. The material supply system includes an orifice and is configured to feed powder material through the orifice, with the orifice disposed above the central cavity of the material mixing unit. The shroud assembly is disposed about the open upper end of the central cavity of the material mixing unit and the orifice of the material supply system.

A system for preparing recipes with components coming from closed containers (S1-S5) provides for using one or more robotic units (1), each of which withdraws a selected container, arranging a plurality of hoppers (7.1-7.5), in each of which the withdrawn selected container is inserted by the robotic unit (1), and in each of which the container is automatically opened for loading the component into the hopper (7), discharging a preset component dose from each hopper (7), and collecting the dosed components for preparing the required recipe; a driving and control unit (15) provides for driving and controlling all of these operations as a function of the required recipe. Thereby, an automatic system for preparing recipes is achieved, which is fast, with a low processing cost, and free from risks related to the processing.

A site may require that multiple containers, such as bulk material containers, may be utilized to provide a required composition or mixture of materials at a required discharge rate. An arrangement of four or more containers on a frame disposed on a support platform where two faces of each container proximate or adjacent to a face of two other containers to form a rectangle provides a configuration that allows for safe and efficient removal and replacement of containers A rotary table coupled to a motor disposed on the support platform rotates the frame such that each container transitions to different positions. The containers discharge material through an opening of support platform. Containers may be retrieved from one position and replaced at another position or retrieved and replaced from a single position. Such a configuration allows for multiple transport devices to operate without interfering with the operations of each other.

In accordance with presently disclosed embodiments, systems and methods for using one or more pre-filled, portable containers, instead of pneumatic transfer, to move bulk material from a transportation unit to a blender receptacle of a blender are provided. A transportation unit may deliver one or more containers of bulk material to the well site, where the containers may be disposed in an elevated position around the blender receptacle. A gravity feed outlet may extend from one or more containers to route bulk material from the one or more containers directly into the blender receptacle. Since the transportation unit is able to unload the portable containers of bulk material without pneumatic transfer, the stackable containers may enable a cleaner and more efficient bulk material transfer at the site.

Systems and methods for managing bulk material efficiently at a well site are provided. The disclosure is directed to a container support frame that is integrated into a blender unit. The support frame is used to receive one or more portable containers of bulk material, and the blender unit may include a gravity feed outlet for outputting bulk material from the containers directly into a mixer of the blender unit. The blender unit with integrated support frame may eliminate the need for any subsequent mechanical conveyance of the bulk material (e.g., via a separate mechanical conveying system or on-blender sand screws) from the containers to the mixer. As such, the integrated blender unit may be lighter weight, take up less space, and have a lower cost and complexity than existing blenders.