Airlift

Device for lifting slurry, suspended solids and drill cuttings from the bottom of a bentonite or polymer slurry-filled excavation for a trench, coffer dam cell or drilled shaft. Usually, compressed air is introduced into the slurry at the bottom of the excavation via a small pipe inside a larger pipe. The upward airflow inside the larger pipe reduces slurry density. The higher density of the surrounding slurry causes an upward flow inside the larger pipe that tends to lift material from the bottom of the excavation.