© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 1

MÜHLEN SOHNFLUITEX®

Airslide Fabricsfor pneumatic conveying,

aeration, dischargingand homogenizingof bulk materials

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 2

Introduction

Mühlen Sohn was founded in 1880

± 75 employees

specialist in the production of heavy woven fabrics such as airslides for various applications

pneumatic conveyingaerationdischarging& homogenizing of bulk materials

ISO 9001 certified since Jan. 1995

export share of ca. 85 %

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 3

Types of silo constructions

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 4

Discharging cones & discsfor trucks & railway-wagons

1. Silo trucks with discharging conesat the rear of and beneath the silo

2. Railway-wagonswith dischargingcones and floors

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 5

Aeration floors in bulk carriers

1. Swedish manufacturerConstruction of aerationfloors

2. Dutch manufacturerSectional aeration floorswith dischargingequipment

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 6

Conveying & discharging chutes

Profile section of pneumatic conveying chute

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 7

FLUITEX® fabric specifications

FLUITEX® E 800 / 5

Raw materials:E = PolyesterEX = Polyester

+ antistatic fibresAD = Para Aramid

(Kevlar®/Twaron)AN = Meta Aramid

(Nomex®)

Thickness:/ 4 = 4.0 mm/ 5 = 4.7 mm/ 6 = 6.0 mm/ 8 = 8.0 mm

Pressure drop with an air volume of 400 m³/m²/h :

350 = 350 mm Wg800 = 800 mm Wg

1200 = 1200 mm Wg1600 = 1600 mm Wg

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 8

Measurement of pressure drop

incoming air (400 m³/m²/h)

FLUITEX®

Pressure drop in mm Wg

∆ p

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 9

Function of air permeableFLUITEX® fabrics

- fan blows air into theconveying chute

- increase of pressurelevel

- no air permeability so far

- air permeability starts at aspecific pressure level

- equal air permeability due to asmooth weave

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 10

Comparison of polyester yarn types

1.) Mühlen Sohn’s multifilament yarn

2.) competitor’s spun yarn

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 11

Fabric surface quality

1. Multifilament yarns as woven fabric

2. Spun yarns as woven fabric

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 12

Interruptions in material flow

- caking on fabrics- low or no air permeabilityresults in a material jam

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 13

Interruptions in material flow

- damaged fabric- high air volume results inconveying barrier

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 14

Airslide with fabric ("banana-effect")

high tenacity polyester yarns in the warp+

patented weaving technology

avoid the banana effect

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 15

Abrasion test results

Test conditions: load 1.0 kp; scouring tool "FRANK"-abrasive paper; grain size 280;Paper changes every 2000 revolutions; number of scourings: 10,000;Thickness of fabrics: 5.0 mm; temperature: 20°C

2,35%

4,03% 4,33%

8,30%

10,74%11,46%

17,00%

0,00%

2,00%

4,00%

6,00%

8,00%

10,00%

12,00%

14,00%

16,00%

18,00%

abra

sion

[%]

Multif ilamentPolyester

FLUITEX E

Para-AramidKevlar

FLUITEX AD

Meta-AramidNomex

FLUITEX AN

Spun yarnsPolyester

good quality

Spun YarnsPolyester poor quality

Cotton Needled Felts

Types of Fabrics

Abrasion Resistance - Relative Loss of Weight / Thickness [%]

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 16

Weave structure

The special weavestructure results in:- high tension weaving- robust & stable weave- high weight per m²

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 17

Unbelievable performance

One fibre lifts 50 kg !

Two filaments of one fibre lift an egg !(one filament is 40 times thinner than a human hair)

50 kg

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 18

Unbelievable performance

a football field !

Annual production of Mühlen Sohn‘s weaving looms is approx.

11 x

© Mühlen Sohn GmbH & Co.; January 2005 19