If the elbows in your pneumatic conveying system need to be replaced due to wear or abrasion or if you’re designing a new layout for your system, knowing the correct tangent - the straight part of the elbow that comes off the curve - you need to ensure you order exactly what you require is key.
Tangents are used during the installation of elbows so you have a straight connection point for clamping couplings or welding a flange. As we’ll see below, it’s sometimes the case that you need a longer tangent coming off your elbow.
When You May Need a Longer Tangent
There are a couple of occasions when you might need a longer tangent - and of course if you have one in your existing pneumatic conveying system and it works, you’ll just need to reorder the same thing. Here are two instances when you might need to consider a longer tangent:
- When you’re using a compression coupling that needs extra tangent length and space: if your elbow is wearing out under the coupling you probably need a longer tangent elbow which covers more of the area being abraded on
- When you have lots of sliding abrasion and your product slides further past the tangent length, causing increased abrasion within your pipe or tube
Determining Tangent Length
Determining tangent length is important when you’re determining the size of elbow you need because you want it to fit in your pneumatic conveying system with the least amount of handling.
To measure your tangents, watch our video on measuring a pneumatic conveying elbow. It will show you everything you need to know about finding your tangential points and the elbow’s centerline radius (CLR).
Tangent-Related Things to Look Out for When You’re Replacing an Elbow
Make sure to ask the manufacturer about the tangent length if you’re ordering off-the-shelf rather than a custom elbow as sometimes tangents come up short or have low tolerances. And on the other hand, sometimes you’ll find that the tangents are too long as manufacturers need the length for bending the pipe or tube. That said, having a longer tangent is preferable to a shorter tangent as it’s easier to trim back than add to it and it provides additional space, allowing the product to coat more of the pipe or tube’s surface.
At Progressive Products, we won’t sell you anything you don’t need – we’ll get you the best elbow that’s right for your individual system. Contact us today to find the right solution for you.
