Parametric study and design procedure for planar silos and hoppers

This paper presents a parametric study anda new design procedure for wedge-shaped (planar) silos. The analyt-ical part of the study is based on a previously reported theoretical model and considers the influence of granular material properties, material height, bin and hopper geometrical dimensions, and the possible difference be-tween the bin and hopper wall friction coefficients. This study includes new experimental results and analyses regarding the influence of various parameters. It was found that the mass-funnel flow boundaries were almost indifferent to the bin sidewall roughness. In addition, according to the new results, the mass flow mode could be achieved even for very rough hopper walls, but in that case, a stagnant layer of material exists next to the hop -per walls. Finally, a new design procedure for planar silos was proposed. The new procedure should help opera-tors and designers of silos to increase the accuracy and flexibility in the assessment of granular flow regime, and therefore it might significantly improve the process efficiency. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study presents a parametric analysis and new design procedure for wedge-shaped silos, considering the influence of various parameters on granular flow. The results show that mass-funnel flow boundaries are largely unaffected by bin sidewall roughness, and a new design procedure is proposed to improve process efficiency by increasing accuracy and flexibility in assessing granular flow regimes.