Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Kinematics of the discharge of flat particles from model silos

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Granular Matter Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present work aims at two main objectives: validation of former equations developed for predicting the discharge flow of particles from silos but, in this case, for flat (oblate) lentil grains, and characterization of the kinematics of those grains at the outlet of the silo for both mass and funnel flow regimes. Special emphasis is placed in describing the way in which the flat grains arrange in their way out of the silo opening. This is presented through a spatiotemporal analysis of the particles at the outlet of the hopper. Results demonstrated that, although the collective behavior of the flow can be represented by those theoretical approaches, the vertical velocity distributions during mass flow regime are incorrectly described by a continuum perspective and have to be revised. On the other hand, the parabolic vault hypothesis seems to be still adequate for describing the velocity profile in the funnel flow regime.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Job, N., Dardenne, A., Pirard, J.-P.: Silo flow-pattern diagnosis using the tracer method. J. Food Eng. 91, 118–125 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Fitzpatrick, J.J., Iqbal, T., Delaney, C., Twomey, T., Keogh, M.K.: Effect of powder properties and storage conditions on the flowability of milk powders with different fat contents. J. Food Eng. 64, 435–444 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Fürll, C., Hoffmann, T.: The influence of the granulometric condition on the flow characteristics of shredded grain products in their dependence on the duration of storage. Powder Technol. 235, 307–311 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Mankoc, C., Janda, A., Arévalo, R., Pastor, J.M., Zuriguel, I., Garcimartín, A., Maza, D.: The flow rate of granular materials through an orifice. Granular Matter 9, 407–414 (2007)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Anand, A., Curtis, J.S., Wassgren, C.R., Hancock, B.C., Ketterhagen, W.R.: Predicting discharge dynamics from a rectangular hopper using the discrete element method (DEM). Chem. Engn. Sci. 63, 5821–5830 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Wu, J., Binbo, J., Chen, J., Yang, Y.: Multi-scale study of particle flow in silos. Adv. Pow. Tech. 20, 62–73 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. González-Montellano, C., Ramírez, A., Gallego, E., Ayuga, F.: Validation and experimental calibration of 3D discrete element models for the simulation of the discharge flow in silos. Chem. Engn. Sci. 66, 5116–5126 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Uñac, R.O., Benegas, O.A., Vidales, A.M., Ippolito, I.: Experimental study of discharge rate fluctuations in a silo with different hopper geometries. Powder Technol. 225, 214–220 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bhateja, A.: Velocity scaling in the region of orifice influence in silo draining under gravity. Phys. Rev. E 102, 042904 (2020)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Beverloo, W.A., Leniger, H.A., van de Velde, J.: The flow of granular solids through orifices. Chem. Eng. Sci 15, 260–269 (1961)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Brown, R.L., Richards, J.C.: Principles of Powder Mechanics, 1st edn. Pergamon Press, Oxford (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Carleton, A.J.: The effect of fluid-drag forces on the discharge of free-falling solids from hoppers. Powder Technol. 6, 91–96 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Oldal, I., Keppler, I., Csizmadia, B., Fenyvesi, L.: Outflow properties of silos: the effect of arching. Adv. Powder Technol. 23, 290–297 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Vivanco, F., Rica, S., Melo, F.: Dynamical arching in a two dimensional granular flow. Granular Matt. 14, 563–576 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Liu, S.D., Zhou, Z.Y., Zou, R.P., Pinson, D., Yu, A.B.: Flow characteristics and discharge rate of ellipsoidal particles in a flat bottom hopper. Powder Technol. 253, 70–79 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Calderón, C.A., Villagrán Olivares, M.C., Uñac, R.O., Vidales, A.M.: Correlations between flow rate parameters and the shape of the grains in a silo discharge. Powder Technol. 320, 43–50 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Mellmann, J., Hoffmann, T., Fürll, C.: Mass flow during unloading of agricultural bulk materials from silos depending on particle form, flow properties and geometry of the discharge opening. Powder Technol. 253, 46–52 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Börzsönyi, T., Somfai, E., Szabó, B., Wegner, S., Mier, P., Rose, G., Stannarius, R.: Packing, alignment and flow of shape-anisotropic grains in a 3D silo experiment. New J. Phys. 18, 093017 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Golshan, S., Esgandari, B., Zarghami, R., Blais, B., Saleh, K.: Experimental and DEM studies of velocity profiles and residence time distribution of non-spherical particles in silos. Powder Technol. 373, 510–521 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Darias, J.R., Gella, D., Fernandez, M.E., Zuriguel, I., Maza, D.: The hopper angle role on the velocity and solid-fraction profiles at the outlet of silos. Powder Technol. 366, 488–496 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Villagrán Olivares, M.C., Benito, J.G., Uñac, R.O., Vidales, A.M.: Towards a one parameter equation for a silo discharging model with inclined outlets. Powder Technol. 336, 265–272 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Nedderman, R.M., Tüzün, U., Savage, S.B., Houlsby, G.T.: The flow of granular materials—I. Discharge rates from hoppers. Chem. Eng. Sci. 37, 1597–1609 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Hu, G., Lin, P., Zhang, Y., Li, L., Yang, L., Chen, X.: Size scaling relation of velocity field in granular flows and the Beverloo law. Granular Matter 21, 21 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Tran-Cong, S., Gay, M., Michaelides, E.E.: Drag coefficients of irregularly shaped particles. Powder Technol. 139, 21–32 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Rubio-Largo, S.M., Janda, A., Maza, D., Zuriguel, I., Hidalgo, R.C.: Disentangling the free-fall arch paradox in silo discharge. Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 238002 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Universidad Nacional de San Luis under grant 03-2718 and by CONICET (PIP 11220170100245).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INFAP, CONICET, Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ejército de los Andes 950, D5700HHW, San Luis, Argentina

    Florencia G. Escudero Acuña, Marcela C. Villagrán Olivares, Jesica G. Benito & Ana M. Vidales

Authors
  1. Florencia G. Escudero Acuña
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marcela C. Villagrán Olivares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jesica G. Benito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ana M. Vidales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana M. Vidales.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this article.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Escudero Acuña, F.G., Villagrán Olivares, M.C., Benito, J.G. et al. Kinematics of the discharge of flat particles from model silos. Granular Matter 24, 102 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-022-01265-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-022-01265-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation