Many of Vortex’s innovations and new product developments have been conceived from long-standing and close working relationships with the heavy-duty and/or abrasive dry bulk material handling industries. These industries are conscious of the fact that new equipment begins to wear out immediately upon use. If the equipment is installed in especially harsh environments, it requires almost constant maintenance. The result is downtime and lost production.

From this, Vortex identified a need in these industries for improved product design, in order to address common causes of equipment failure. With that, the Vortex Titan Series was established in 2011. Though the entire Vortex Titan Series stays true to a consistent design philosophy, recently, one diverter valve in particular – the Vortex Pivoting Chute Diverter – has garnered much attention.

Per the demands of companies handling especially abrasive dry materials, Vortex designed the Pivoting Chute Diverter to improve processing speeds and provide a diverter valve with longevity when operating in particularly wearing environments. Since its release, the Pivoting Chute Diverter has improved operations for industries worldwide, including cement, mining, industrial sand, power generation, and whole grains, among many others.

In 2016, the Vortex Pivoting Chute Diverter was selected by Processing Magazine as a Breakthrough Product of the Year.

Key features: 

• Diverter body constructed from painted carbon steel.
• An independent, internal pivoting chute.
• Material contact areas protected by replaceable abrasion-resistant liners. Liners are constructed from durable metal materials (e.g. abrasion-resistant steel and/or chromium carbide, among others).
• Dust-tight to atmosphere.
• Internal pivoting chute can be shifted through a flowing column of material, depending on material particle size. This improves processing speeds, compared to flapper diverters, which recommend a gate above the diverter to shut-off flow, prior to shifting to the other leg(s).
• The diverter's removable access panel allows interior inspection and/or maintenance to be performed while the valve remains in-line.
• Both the inlet chute and the internal pivoting chute can be removed for inspection, maintenance or replacement.
• The chute can be pivoted to a midpoint, in order to split flow toward two destinations simultaneously. (Note: Because flow is shared from one source toward two destinations, flow rates toward each leg will be reduced, compared to typical one-to-one flow rates.) 
• Available in two-way or three-way diverting designs.

Additional Considerations:

• Stack-up height: Slightly more space is needed between flanges when installing a Pivoting Chute Diverter, compared to space needed to install a flapper diverter.
• Material migration into the opposite leg(s) is possible.

However, in most applications where the Pivoting Chute Diverter may be considered, these variables are not of major concern.