Calculation Method For Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and Hopper Flow of Powder - Flowability Issues Solving - Discharge Throughput (Beverloo Equation)

9/27/2019 Calculation method for Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and hopper Flow of powder - Flowability issues
y issues solving - Discharge through…
PowderProcess.net Menu
Welcome to Resources
Engineering access
Tank Cleaning Head supplier

High-e cient, Durable
High-e cient, Affordable for Cleaning tanks, Barrels and
Vessels, up to 6.7m diameter.
ccnozzle.com OPEN
Silos design - Flow of powder

Silos design calculation method
Don't want to design ? Do you want to solve a discharge problem in your silo ?
If yes, access our HOW TO : How to solve ow problems ?
Follow us on Twitter
Question, remark ? Contact us at powder.process@protonmail.com
Section summary
1. Silo / Hopper Design Calculation Methods
2. Discharging aids
3. Air balancing
4. Good practices Silo Design
https://powderprocess.net/Silo_discharge.html 1/19
9/27/2019 Calculation method for Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and hopper Flow of powder - Flowability issues solving - Discharge through…
Tank Cleaning Head Factory
Engineering Resources access
Durable, 316 Stainless Steel

High Quality, Affordable for Cleaning tanks, Barrels and Vessels,
up to 6.7m diameter.
ccnozzle.com OPEN
What it is about
Powder handling processes are made of many unit operations, some complex, some that can seem
easier. Discharging powder is often overlooked, however, issues in this a priori simple operation can
lead to huge losses.
Discharging powder must be
- Reliable
- Fast enough
- Controlled
Ad
From 3D development to installation, we

produce silos and storage systems
Visit Site
The performance of an industrial process will be judged, among other parameters, according to its
capacity to reach a nominal speed (expressed in terms of throughput, cycle time or number of batches
/ h). If a hopper which is supposed to deliver powder at a given rate cannot do it, be it placed at the
beginning, middle, or end of the process, the whole installation "speed" will be affected
1. Silo / Hopper Design Calculation methods

1.1 Why it is important

Powder has a given ability to slide and fall when it is stored in a hopper. A key variable that will have an
Engineering
impact on the Resources
ow of product outside of a bin is its cohesive strength. access
In a bin, the powder is submitted to pressure, due to the fact that there is a height of powder in the bin,
the powder on top pushing on the powder below the hopper. Due to the pressure, some solids tend to
be more cohesive, when powders become cohesive, they can form archs or rathole, 2 phenomena very
detrimental to the ow of powder and the discharge of hoppers.
From 3D development to
installation, we produce silos
and storage systems
Ad Silos & Silos
Learn more
However, it must be noted that the stress (pressure) in a silo lled with bulk solids has a very different
pro le compared to what happens with liquid.
PowderProcess.net
Silos for Food Industry
Menu
From 3D development
to installation, we
produce silos and
storage systems
Silos & Silos
Figure 1 : Stress pro le in bulk solids silos
The powder is consolidated in the top part due to pressure. But in the cone, the stress applied to the
powder decreases which means that the forces pushing the product to ow are minimal : arching
(powder is blocked in a stable state) can thus happen at this level in the hopper. The design of the silo
has as an objective to nd the couple cone angle + diameter of outlet that will manage to keep a
constraint on the powder high enough to break arches and make the product ow naturally.
The diameter of the outlet of a bin can be calculated in order to avoid both arching and ratholing, thus
maximizing the chances to ensure a proper ow of product. When designing a silo, the following
parameters must be calculated :
Top 5 Most Popular

1. Avoid and solve pipe blockages in pneumatic conveying
2. Mass ow silos
3. Dilute phase pneumatic conveying design and calculation
4. IBC bin mixing equipments
5. Measuring degree of mixing
--------------
--------------
Top 5 New
1. Continuous Dry Mixing
2. Mixing speed
3. Mixer capacity optimization
4. Batch / continuous mixing comparison
5. Improve energy e ciency of your process
Table 1 : Silo design parameters
Key silo design parameters
PowderProcess.net
Discharge diameter (avoids arching and ratholing) Menu
The discharge angle
The volume of the silo
The discharge rate from the silo
1.2 Calculating the silo discharge diameter with the method of

Jenicke
1 Online Engineering Schools a
2 Used Industrial Equipment a
3 Bosch Hand Tools a
4 Energy Saving Tips a
5 Bosch Power Tools a
STEP 1 - Get information on the powder
The following data must be known in order to calculate the silo : The Powder Flow Function, the wall
friction angle, the static angle of internal friction
Knowing the characteristics of the product to discharge is the 1st and mandatory step to properly
design a hopper. The powder characteristics can be determined thanks to a shear tester (see section
on powder characteristics). From these characteristics, a critical discharge diameter can be calculated.
The critical discharge diameter is the diameter under which the product will risk to arch. It must be
noted that different diameters can be calculated depending on the type of bin to be implemented
STEP 2 - Calculate the hopper angle for mass ow
It is usually desirable to have a mass ow happening in silos or hoppers. Jenicke has tabulated, for
different wall friction angle and internal friction angle the maximum hopper angle for which we can get
a mass ow. It is 1st necessary to know if a conical hopper shape is preferred or a wedge-shaped
hopper can be used. In food application, conical hoppers will be preferred, because of the easiness of
cleaning. Wedge-shaped can be preferred in order to maximize the hopper size but the type of powder
feeder at the base of the silo will have also to be determined (star valve di cult to t to a wedge-
shaped hopper for example).
Figure 2 : Abascus for discharge hopper angle calculation [1]
Graphs can be used the following way :
For example, the powder has been determined to have a wall friction angle of 5 degrees and has been
determined to have an angle of internal friction of 30 degree.
Take 5 degrees wall friction angle and draw a straight until meeting the 30 degrees curve. The abscisse
is giving you a minimal angle of 23 degrees. Take 3 degrees margin and select 20 degrees for you
hopper
STEP 3 - Calculate the ow factor (FF)

The ow factor (FF) can be calculated from an abacus presenting the wall friction angle as a function
of the hopper angle. The graph is divided in different areas that represent different ow factor.
Engineering
01 Hand Tool Resources
Organizer access
a
02 Automotive Service Tools a
03 Energy Saving Tips a
04 Air Impact Tools a
05 Online Engineering Degrees a
For cone shaped hopper For wedge shaped hopper
Figure 3 : Abascus for ow factor calculation [2]
STEP 4 - Calculate the critical cohesive strength (fc_crit)
On the ow factor graph, a straight line with the slope 1/FF is drawn. The point where it crosses the
ow function will give the critical cohesive strength fc_crit.
Figure 4 : Flow Function and Material Flow Functions to calculate Critical Applied Stress
STEP 5 - Calculate the parameter H
The H parameter is used in the formula to calculate the critical outlet diameter to prevent arching. It is
calculated from an abascus, knowing the hopper discharge angle calculated in step 2.
Figure 5 : Abascus for H parameter calculation
Note : the green line corresponds to wedge shaped hoppers, the red line to axi-symetric hoppers (cone)
How to calculate the outlet diameter of a silo ?

STEP 6 - Calculate the critical outlet diameter
All necessary data are known to calculate the minimal outlet diameter to avoid arching :
Equation 1 : critical outlet diameter to avoid arching [2]
With ρb the bulk density under a consolidation corresponding to σcrit=fccrit
Note : For large silos, the effect of time consolidation corresponding to the estimated maximum time
powder can stay in the silo must be determined also. This can lead to the calculation of 2 critical
diameters and help to position discharging aids in the hopper / silo.
STEP 7 - Calculate the rathole diameter
The critical rathole diameter is determined from the following equation :
Equation 2 : critical outlet diameter to avoid ratholing [2]

Engineering Resources
with fc the cohesive strength of the powder at the calculated consolidation pressure access
Figure 6 : Abascus for G parameter calculation
After calculating the diameters above, it is necessary to consider the larger one in order to avoid both
arches and ratholes. If the diameter calculated is too large to be feasible, then the addition of
discharging aids to the silo will be necessary.
1.3 Types of bins

The following types of bins can be designed
- Mass Flow bin : with a conical discharge and a circular outlet / or with a non conical discharge with a
wedged shape outlet
- Funnel Flow bin : with a circular outlet / or rectangular outlet
Mass Flow bin : all the mass of product will move at the same time. This type is to be preferred to get
close to a FIFO (First In First Out). These bins can be sensitive to arching.
Funnel Flow bin : the discharge of the product at the center of the bin will be promoted, a funnel will be
created. These bins are sensitive to arching AND ratholing
It is generally advantageous in the industry to design a mass ow bin, which, when designed properly
will ensure a reliable ow out of the silo. What can happen also is that a bin is intended to perform as a
mass ow bin but actually behaves as a funnel ow bin... Questions must then be raised to understand
why this behavior is experienced, Re-calculating the minimum diameters and angle of discharge can be
a starting point to troubleshoot the behavior observed. Funnel ow bins are subject to ratholes.
PowderProcess.net
Ratholes can cause severe problems for very large silos at the moment the product stuck on theMenu side is
Engineering
collapsing Resources
: indeed, access
the collapse can make a large amount of material fall, if the silo has not been
designed to handle such pressure, it will fail and be deformed [4].
Figure 7 : Bin discharge patterns
For each of these bins type, the critical outlet diameter, to avoid arching and ratholing, should be
calculated in order to ensure a good ow.
1.4 Feeders used at discharge of hopper

Feeders are positioned after a hopper to control the discharge, dose the solid if necessary, or reach
another unit operation while reducing the height of the installation (case of screw and vibrating
feeders). 4 feeders are considered here and cover most of the cases in the industry : simple butter y
valves, pneumatic rotary valves or Airlock rotary Valves, screw feeders and vibrating tubes.
It is important to size properly such feeder, since an undersized feeder can have bad consequences on
the way the powder will ow in the hopper, and can turn a mass ow bin into a funnel ow bin. The
feeder must be designed to draw out the solid on the entire section of the hopper (which can lead to
some overdesign compared to what is actually required for the process). If it is not the case, some
preferred channel will be created, which will cause the hopper to have a funnel behavior.
The key aspects to take into consideration when designing feeders below a hopper are the following :
- Make sure the pipe slopes are large and steep enough to ensure a proper ow of material (no dead
zone)
- Make sure the feeder can take the powder in the whole section of the feeder outlet
Table 2 : Feeder design considerations
Feeder Speci c precautions
Screw If positioned below an elongated hopper, use a pitch allowing to take more and more
powder on the direction of the ow [3] (otherwise, the screw will be full from the
beginning and powder will be taken out only on one side of the hopper outlet)
To be noted that an uneven powder withdrawal from a screw can even have some
structural consequences on very large silos
Airlock It is important for this kind of feeder to foresee a short section of pipe between the
rotary hopper and the valve (2 diameter), it allows to regulate the ow to the valve and get a
Valve better mass ow
Butter y A butter y valve constitutes the simplest equipment to be positioned at the outlet of a
valve silo
Butter y valves are hygienic compared to gate or diaphragm valves but, contrary to the
2 former, butter y valves have the disadvantage to leave in the passing area the
butter y once open. It can be enough for some material to form a new bridge.
Discharging aids even vibrating butter y valves can be necessary for very cohesive
powders.
1.5 Calculation of the discharge rate

Coarse particles (>400 microns)
2 types of equations are usually found in the literature : the Johanson equation and the Berverloo
equation. To be noted that these equations will allow to estimate the ow but in no case to have an
accurate value.
Beverloo equation is the most direct expression, although different "lump" parameters are used. It is
important to note that, for ne particles, the Beverloo equation will overestimate the discharge rate
(actually, when discharging ne particles, air uidization happen which is detrimental to the discharge
rate compared to large particles).
Beverloo Equation
Equation 3 : Beverloo equation (discharge rate through outlet for coarse particles)
W discharge rate in kg/s

C empirical discharge coe cient
k empirical shape coe cient
ρb is the bulk density in kg/m3
g is the acceleration of gravity 9.81 ms-2
dp is the particle diameter in m
d0 is the discharge diameter in m (note for no circular outlet, use hydraulic diameter 4*(cross sectional
area)/(outlet perimeter)
C=f(ρb) and is in the range 0.55<C<0.65
k=f(particle shape, hopper angle) and is in the range 1<k<2 except for sand where it is 2.9
If acknown, consider C=0.58 and k=1.6
The Johanson equation has the following form :
Johanson Equation
Equation 4 : Johanson equation (discharge rate through outlet for coarse particles)
m_discharge discharge rate in kg/s

θ angle of hopper deg
ρb bulk density in kg/m3
g is the acceleration of gravity 9.81 ms-2
Table 3 : Parameters for Johanson equation
Parameter Conical hopper Wedge hopper
B D, diameter of outlet W
A Pi*D^2/4 WL
m 1 0
Fine particles (<400 microns)
As mentionned above, the ow of ne particles will be sensitive to the ow of air returning from the
discharge point and opposing the ow of materials. The discharge rate can then be 100 times less than
what is predicted by Beverloo or Johanson equations. Carleton proposes an equation to estimate the
discharge rate of ne particles.
Carleton Equation
Equation 5 : Carleton equation (discharge rate through outlet for ne particles)

V0 average velocity of solids dicharging

A,B given above
ρp particle density
2. Discharging aids
A good hopper design is the 1st necessary conditions to have a good ow of product when discharging
a hopper. However, it may be necessary to have additional equipments to promote the ow of material.
This can be the case with very bad owing materials (for which the critical outlet diameter would be
too large for being implemented), with materials who can be transformed during their storage (sugar
caking) or if some constraints prevented to design the best possible hopper geometry
The typical discharging aids are described in the following table
Table 4 : The different types of discharging aids
Group Discharging Characteristics

aid
Mechanical Agitator Using an agitator in powder is e cient although it leads to a certain

mechanical complexity for large silos. The solution is therefore
preferred for small hopper (for Loss In Weight Feeder for example).
The mechanical design of the agitator must be studied in detail in
order to sustain the forces required to move the powder. Such design
is also not preferrable for hygienic applications (risks or Foreign Body,
hopper cleaning)
Mechanical Lump Lump breakers are positionned after a hopper, they will not promote
breakers ow but rather prevent issues with the feeder located right after.
Mechanical Knockers Knockers are usually powered by compressed air. They are
particularly used to nalize the discharge. The knocker hitting an
empty hopper will help to make the powder sticking to the walls fall
out. The discharge will be more complete and it can reduce
accumulation from 1 batch to another.
Pneumatic Fluidizing Rubber pads, directly mounted on the inside of a hopper are using
pads compressed air injection to promote ow. A shoot of compressed air
through the pad will have 2 effects :
- Vibration of the uidizing pad
- Air injection
Such item will be very e cient to break arches, especially when
vibrating bottoms cannot be used (compressible material). Attention
must however been given to materials susceptible to ratholing when
using such activation pads.
To be noted that other pneumatic system exist (air cannons) injecting
air at high pressure (up to 10 bar g), such item should only be used
during the discharge to avoid further consolidation of the powder
Vibration Vibrating Very common solution to promote ow. NOT to be used with powder
bottom that have a high compressibility index
A exible although very rigid membrane link the top of the hopper and
the end of its cone. A vibrating motor (unbalanced) is attached to the
bottom part. The motor is started / stopped during short intervals.
In order to transfer properly the vibration to the product and improve
the effect of the vibrating bottom of "Chinese Hat" is connected to the
vibrating part
The use of this chinese hat makes the vibrating bottom di cultly
cleanable, to be kept in mind for hygienic applications
Vibrating bottom are often used when there is not enough space to
get the right hopper angle. They indeed allow to have a atter outlet
since the vibration is promoting the ow.
Vibrations Vibrators Vibrators are unbalanced motors mounted directly on the hopper.
They can be used on small hoppers. On big ones, the vibration will be
very limitated and will have few effect on the ow.
To be noted that some small vibrators can also be powered by
compressed air. They will be more used on piping or very small
hoppers (few liters)
Material Material Changing the properties of the hopper wall through mechanical or
treatment chemical treatment (polishing, electropolishing...) will change the
wall friction angle and can leaad to a facilitated ow
Material Flow agent When possible, adding a small quantity of a owing agent can help
"lubricate" the powder and increase the ow
3. Air balancing
Air balancing, when discharging a hopper, an especially when this discharge is done for dosing
purposes, is often overlooked. However, a bad air balancing can have severe consequences on the
performances of the process.
Typical consequences of bad air balancing are : a reduction in ow at the outlet of the hopper, or a bad
dosing.
Air balancing is de ned here as the capacity of the process to equilibrate pressures : i.e. for a hopper
discharging to a mixer, to be able to admit air to avoid vacuum in the hopper discharging, and be able to
release air in the mixer to avoid overpressure.
Such an air balancing is ensured by sizing lters su ciently large to allow an exchange of air large
enough, without getting over the maximum pressure authorized. One possibility exists to actually install
a pipe in between the discharging vessel and the receiving vessel, ensuring an exact compensation in
both hoppers. However, such a system may not always be suitable (hygienic reasons, layout...).
Figure 8 : Pressure effects during powder discharge
Filters must be designed by using the face velocity of a material to lter. Different correction factors
should be applied.
4. Silo Design good principles

In order to design properly a silo, several considerations must be kept in mind, related to the product to
store, the material in which the silo will be built, and the safety of the installation.
Table 5 : Silo design checks
Design area Check to be performed
Material to be Perform a rheology analysis following Jenike's method. Calculate the outlet
handled diameter, cone angle and position of discharging aids if necessary
Get loose and tapped bulk density
Check moisture, sensitivity to humidity
Get all ATEX data related to the product (Pmax, Kst, EMI, granulometry...)
Silo Geometry De ne outlet diameter, angle of cone from powder properties

De ne height of shell according to the capacity to reach and powder loose
density
Silo To be reviewed according to the application. Aluminium and Stainless Steel are
construction common materials, some silos are also in synthetic materials
material The material should be determined very early so that the tests on the product
(wall friction tests) can be done with the material of construction
Instrumentation Typical instrumentations to include are level probes dicrete (safety) and
continuous (stock assessment), load cells can also be used. The pressure in
the silo is also an important parameter to control for silos that do not vent
freely to atmosphere. Sometimes temperature probes are needed too (product
sensitive to temperature...)
Safety A very important check to be done is to de ne pressure safety valves and

vacuum breakers. For this, the scenarios generating the largest volume of air to
release or admit must be determined and validated.
ATEX should also be considered with the use of explosion panels...etc... in case
of risk that needs to be mitigated
Feeder As de ned above the design of the feeder needs to be studied to reach the
proper discharge rate, but also ensure a smooth discharge from the silo.
Sources
[1] Ten steps to an effective bin design, Eric Maynard, CEP, November 2013
[2] Hopper design principles, Mehos and Morgan, Chemical Engineering, 2016
[3] Silo failures : case histories and lessons learned, Carson, Jenike and Johanson
[4] Feeder Design for Solids Handling, Chemical Engineering, Marinelli and Miller, 2017
Copyright www.PowderProcess.net
The content of PowderProcess.net is copyrighted but no warranty nor liability is ensured. The content of this site is to
be seen as a help and important information and calculation must always be double checked by the user through the
quality procedure of his organization or by checking another source. The user must always respect all applicable
regulation. The use of the information is at the user and its organization own risk and own cost.
www.powderprocess.net is secured by SSL encryption
Follow us on Twitter

Calculation Method For Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and Hopper Flow of Powder - Flowability Issues Solving - Discharge Throughput (Beverloo Equation)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Calculation Method For Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and Hopper Flow of Powder - Flowability Issues Solving - Discharge Throughput (Beverloo Equation)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Calculation Method For Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and Hopper Flow of Powder - Flowability Issues Solving - Discharge Throughput (Beverloo Equation)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

9/27/2019 Calculation method for Design Silos and Hoppers - Silos and hopper Flow of powder - Flowability issues

y issues solving - Discharge through…

Tank Cleaning Head supplier

Silos design - Flow of powder

1. Silo / Hopper Design Calculation Methods

4. Good practices Silo Design

Durable, 316 Stainless Steel

Discharging powder must be

From 3D development to installation, we

1. Silo / Hopper Design Calculation methods

1.1 Why it is important

Figure 1 : Stress pro le in bulk solids silos

Top 5 Most Popular

Table 1 : Silo design parameters

Key silo design parameters

The volume of the silo

The discharge rate from the silo

1.2 Calculating the silo discharge diameter with the method of

1 Online Engineering Schools a

2 Used Industrial Equipment a

3 Bosch Hand Tools a

4 Energy Saving Tips a

5 Bosch Power Tools a

STEP 1 - Get information on the powder

STEP 2 - Calculate the hopper angle for mass ow

Figure 2 : Abascus for discharge hopper angle calculation [1]

Graphs can be used the following way :

STEP 3 - Calculate the ow factor (FF)

02 Automotive Service Tools a

03 Energy Saving Tips a

04 Air Impact Tools a

05 Online Engineering Degrees a

For cone shaped hopper For wedge shaped hopper

Figure 3 : Abascus for ow factor calculation [2]

STEP 4 - Calculate the critical cohesive strength (fc_crit)

STEP 5 - Calculate the parameter H

Figure 5 : Abascus for H parameter calculation

How to calculate the outlet diameter of a silo ?

Equation 1 : critical outlet diameter to avoid arching [2]

With ρb the bulk density under a consolidation corresponding to σcrit=fccrit

STEP 7 - Calculate the rathole diameter

The critical rathole diameter is determined from the following equation :

Equation 2 : critical outlet diameter to avoid ratholing [2]

Figure 6 : Abascus for G parameter calculation

1.3 Types of bins

Figure 7 : Bin discharge patterns

1.4 Feeders used at discharge of hopper

Table 2 : Feeder design considerations

1.5 Calculation of the discharge rate

W discharge rate in kg/s

If acknown, consider C=0.58 and k=1.6

The Johanson equation has the following form :

m_discharge discharge rate in kg/s

Table 3 : Parameters for Johanson equation

Parameter Conical hopper Wedge hopper

Fine particles (<400 microns)

Equation 5 : Carleton equation (discharge rate through outlet for ne particles)

V0 average velocity of solids dicharging