Material
Silica Sand
Answer in brief
Sand flows beautifully and destroys everything it flows through.
The handling question is rarely whether the material will move; it is how fast the bends, valve seats and screw flights will disappear, and how the respirable fraction is kept away from people.
- Select velocity and wear protection together, since erosion rises steeply with velocity.
- Expect segregation by grain size in every silo and stockpile.
- Treat respirable crystalline silica as a regulated exposure, not as nuisance dust.
Reviewed October 21, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026
Handling challenges
Silica sand is the reference material for abrasion, and a plant that handles it learns the real service life of every component.
Wear and velocity
Erosion in a pneumatic line rises far faster than conveying velocity, so a small reduction in velocity buys a large gain in bend life.
- Dense phase conveying at low velocity where the distance and rate allow it.
- Long-radius or dead-end bends and ceramic or hardened inserts at impact points.
- Valve types chosen for abrasive service rather than for cost per unit.
Segregation
Sand is sold on grading, and every fill and discharge sorts it by size.
Coarse grains roll to the outside of a pile while fines stay in the centre, so a funnel-flow silo can deliver a different grading at the start and the end of a batch.
Mass flow design and careful fill point location keep the delivered grading closer to the specification.
Moisture
Dry sand flows; sand at a few percent moisture bridges over outlets and builds up on chute walls.
Drying, heated hoppers or a design that simply accepts and clears buildup are the practical options, and they should be chosen rather than discovered.
Respirable silica
Fine quartz dust causes irreversible lung disease, and exposure limits are strict and enforced.
Enclosure, extraction at transfer points, water suppression where the process allows and monitoring at operator positions form the usual control set.
What to establish before buying equipment
- Grading curve and the acceptable change between silo inlet and outlet.
- Moisture range on receipt, which determines the flow case.
- Design velocity and the resulting wear budget per component.
- Applicable silica exposure limit and the sampling plan.
Material behavior
- Flowability
- Free flowing when dry
- Abrasiveness
- Very high
- Cohesiveness
- Low when dry, bridges when damp
- Moisture behavior
- Damp sand bridges and builds up in chutes
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