3/29/12


Storage
and
Flow
of
Powders


CH
2040
–
Mechanical
OperaAons

Basavaraj
M.
Gurappa

Department
of
chemical
engineering

IIT‐Madras


The
short‐term
storage
of
raw
materials,
intermediates
and
products
in
the
form
of
par?culate

solids
in
process
plants
is
done
in
conical
hoppers



In
perfect
mass
flow,
all
the
powder
in
a
silo
is

in
moAon
whenever
any
of
it
is
drawn
from
the

outlet


Core
flow:
This
occurs
when
the
powder
flows

towards
 the
 outlet
 of
 a
 silo
 in
 a
 channel

formed
within
the
powder
itself


Mass
flow
and
core
flow
in
hoppers:
(a)
core
flow;
(b)
mass
flow



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Pressure
vs.
height
for
liquids
and
powders

hWp://www.dietmar‐schulze.de/spanne.html


Liquid


Powder


Liquid
 powder

While
the
pressure
in
a
container
filled
with
a
fluid
increases
linearly
with
the
depth
,
the
weight

of
the
bulk
solid
in
a
silo
is
carried
partly
by
the
silo
walls
because
of
the
shear
stresses
(fricAon

at
the
silo
wall)
so
that
the
stress
does
not
increase
linearly
with
the
depth
like
the
pressure
of
a

fluid.

In
contrast
to
a
fluid,
a
bulk
solid
at
rest
can
transmit
shear
stresses.


Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

Objec?ve:
Derive
an
expression
for
the
varia?on
of
stress
exerted
on
the
base
of
a
bin
with

increasing
depth
of
powder


Assume
 that
 the
 powder
 is
 non‐cohesive
 (i.e.


does
not
gain
strength
on
compacAon)


Consider
 a
 slice
 of
 thickness
 ΔH
 at
 a
 depth
 H


below
 the
 surface
 of
 the
 powder,
 which
 has

the
same
cross‐secAonal
area
as
the
silo.



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Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

Objec?ve:
Derive
an
expression
for
the
varia?on
of
stress
exerted
on
the
base
of
a
bin
with

increasing
depth
of
powder

Download
force
acAng
on
the
top
surface
of

the
slice
is



π D2
σv
4
Where
D
is
the
bin
diameter,
and
 
 
 σ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
is

v
the
 stress
 acAng
 on
 the
 top
 surface
 of
 the

slice


The
reacAon
of
the
powder
below
the
slice
acts
upwards
and
this
stress

increases
with
depth,
and
is
given
by

π D2
(σ v + Δσ v )
4

Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

Objec?ve:
Derive
an
expression
for
the
varia?on
of
stress
exerted
on
the
base
of
a
bin
with

increasing
depth
of
powder

The
net
upward
force
on
the
slice
is



π D2
(Δσ v )
4
Due
 to
 verAcal
 force,
 powder
 or
 parAcles

σh
experience
a
horizontal
stress








and
this

stress
is
exerted
on
the
wall
by
the
powder

in
 the
 slice.
 The
 fricAon
 force
 on
 the
 slice

acAng
upward
is



π DΔH tan Φ w (σ h )
tan Φ w
Where














is
wall
fricAon


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Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

Objec?ve:
Derive
an
expression
for
the
varia?on
of
stress
exerted
on
the
base
of
a
bin
with

increasing
depth
of
powder

The
gravitaAonal
force
on
the
slice
is



⎛ π D2 ⎞
⎜⎝ 4 ΔH ⎟⎠ ρ B g
Where
ρ
 B
 
 is
 the
 bulk
 density
 of
 the
 power

and
 is
 assumed
 to
 be
 constant
 throughout

the
powder
–
independent
of
depth



For
the
slice
to
be
in
equilibrium,
upward
and
downward
forces
should

balance
each
other


π D2 ⎛ π D2 ⎞
(Δσ v ) + π DΔH tan Φ w (σ h ) = ⎜ ΔH ⎟ ρ B g
4 ⎝ 4 ⎠

Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

π D2 ⎛ π D2 ⎞
(Δσ v ) + π DΔH tan Φ w (σ h ) = ⎜ ΔH ⎟ ρ B g
4 ⎝ 4 ⎠
D(Δσ v ) + 4ΔH tan Φ w (σ h ) = DΔH ρ B g
If
 we
 assume
 that
 the
 horizontal
 stress
 is
 proporAonal
 to
 the
 verAcal

stress
and
that
it
the
relaAonship
does
not
vary
with
depth,


σ h = kσ v
Δσ v 4k tan Φ w
+ (σ v ) = ρ B g
ΔH D
(obtained
by
dividing
both
sides
by
‐











)

DΔH

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Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

Δσ v 4k tan Φ w
+ (σ v ) = ρ B g
ΔH D
(obtained
by
dividing
both
sides
by
‐











)

DΔH

As

ΔH → 0 dσ v 4k tan Φ w
+ (σ v ) = ρ B g
dH D
Above
equaAon
can
be
re‐arranged
as
‐


d
⎡⎣ e(4 k tan Φw / D )H σ v ⎤⎦ = ρ B ge(4 k tan Φw / D )H
dH

Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

d
⎡⎣ e(4 k tan Φw / D )H σ v ⎤⎦ = ρ B ge(4 k tan Φw / D )H
dH
IntegraAon
of
this
gives
‐


Dρ B g (4 k tan Φw / D )H
σ v e(4 k tan Φw / D )H = e +C
4k tan Φ w

If
the
stress
acAng
on
the
surface
of
the
powder
is

σ v0

DρB g
σv = [1 − e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H ] + σ v0 e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H
4k tan Φ w

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Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids


DρB g
σv = [1 − e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H ] + σ v0 e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H
4k tan Φ w

When
no
force
is
acAng
on
the
free
surface
of
the
powder
i.e.
σ v0 = 0

DρB g
σv = [1 − e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H ]
4k tan Φ w
When
H
is
small,



e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H = 1 − (4k tan Φ w / D)H

Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids

When
H
is
small,



e−(4 k tan Φw / D )H = 1 − (4k tan Φ w / D)H

DρB g
σv = [1 − (1 − (4k tan Φ w / D)H )]
4k tan Φ w
σ v = H ρB g
Which
is
equivalent
to
staAc
pressure
of
a
liquid
of
density
ρB
at
a
depth

H

DρB g
When
H
is
large,

 σv = Independent
of
H

4k tan Φ w

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Pressure
on
the
base
of
a
silo
containing
solids


Shear
Cell
Test

The
 Jenike
 shear
 cell
 allows
 powders
 to
 be
 compacted
 to
 any
 degree

and
 sheared
 under
 controlled
 load
 condiAons.
 At
 the
 same
 Ame
 the

shear
force
(and
hence
stress)
can
be
measured.


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Shear
Cell
Test

Powders
change
bulk
density
under
shear.
Under
the
ac?on
of
shear,

for
a
specific
normal
load,



A
loosely
packed
powder
would
contract
(bulk
density
increases)


Tightly
packed
powder
would
expand
(bulk
density
decreases)


No
change
in
volume
if
observed
for
a
criAcally
packed
powder



For
 a
 parAcular
 bulk
 density,
 there
 is
 a


criAcal
 normal
 load
 which
 gives
 failure

(yield)
 with
 out
 volume
 change
 –
 A

powder
 flowing
 in
 a
 hopper
 is
 in
 this

condiAon.
 Therefore
 yield
 without

volume
 change
 is
 therefore
 of

parAcular
interest
to
silo
design


Shear
Cell
Test


A
normal
load
is
applied
to
the
lid
of
the
Jenike
cell
and
the
horizontal
or

shear
force
applied
to
the
sample
via
the
loading
bracket
is
measured
or

recorded.



The
 horizontal
 force
 needed
 to
 iniAate
 shear
 flow
 of
 the
 powder
 is

noted


This
 procedure
 is
 repeated
 for
 each
 idenAcal
 powder
 sample
 with
 but

with
greater
normal
load
applied
to
the
lid
each
Ame






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Shear
Cell
Test


The
 end
 point
 of
 each
 yield
 locus


corresponds
 to
 criAcal
 flow
 condiAons

where
 iniAaAon
 of
 flow
 is
 not

accompanied
 by
 any
 change
 in
 bulk

density



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