Controls and ancillaries
Air receiver and surge tank
Also known as air receiver, surge tank, air accumulator.
An air receiver (also surge tank, air accumulator) is a pressure vessel installed between the compressed-air compressor and the air-consuming equipment. The receiver stores compressed air at supply pressure, absorbing the instantaneous demand of pulsed equipment without requiring the compressor itself to track the pulse.
Why it matters for sonic-horn installations
Sonic horns draw their full rated flow only during the brief firing pulse — typically 5–15 seconds out of every 3–15 minutes. Without an adequately-sized receiver, the supply pressure at the horn would sag during the pulse, reducing SPL by several dB and degrading cleaning effectiveness.
Sizing rule of thumb: the receiver volume should be at least 10× the horn's pulse-volume consumption, with larger margins on multi-horn arrays where simultaneous firing is possible.
Common installation issues
- Under-sized receiver — horn pressure drops during pulse, SPL falls
- Receiver located too far from horns — pressure drop in piping defeats the buffer
- Shared receiver for sonic horns and other pulse equipment without sufficient margin
Related terms
Related terms
- Compressed air (industrial)Compressed air at 4–7 bar from plant or instrument-air systems drives industrial sonic horns. Consumption typically 8–14 Nm³/min during a firing burst.
- Sonic hornA sonic horn is a pneumatically-driven low-frequency sound emitter (typically 60–400 Hz at 140–180 dB SPL) used to dislodge particulate fouling from boilers, ESPs, baghouses and process vessels.
- Solenoid valve (sonic horn)A solenoid valve admits compressed air to a sonic horn on command from the cycle controller. ATEX-certified for hazardous-area duty; the most-replaced wear part on the horn periphery.