Silo design

Concrete

producers

are

constantly

faced

with

changing

technology.

Computer

control

systems,reclamation equipment, mixing techniques, chemical admix mechanics, and material

handlingadvancements

are

but

few

of

the

current

technologies

in

the

ever-evolving

concreteproduction industry. At least some things never change: take storage silos, for example.
Thesevertical tanks are about as simple as it gets, right? Dead wrong and dead may prove
thecritical term if a concrete producer or his plant engineer is careless in the design or use of a silo.
It may surprise some that storage silos are not just tanks but, in fact, structures that havefunction
criteria including how the silo is to fill, empty, and store a given bulk product; flowpattern, i.e., mass or
funnel flow; structural geometry comprising the shape and materialsincorporated in silo design; and
how these are affected in full or empty operations and undervaried ambient conditions.
Understanding the material to be stored
A common mistake on the part of concrete plant owners arises from the assumption that acement silo
design can be used for storing any bulk product around the concrete plant. Thefact, however, is that
cement storage design criteria are distinct; it is not safe to assume thatslag, fly ash, silica fume or silica
sand, lime, or other bulk fines can be contained in a silooriginally designed for cement storage.
Producers need to understand the characteristics,properties and flow patterns of any material to be
stored in a silo.
To determine a material property and flow pattern, contacting the material supplier andasking for
complete product data worksheets is recommended. Such measures have becomeincreasingly
important as replacement ingredients in bulk are being added with far greaterfrequency to concrete and
concrete products. Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) and HighPerformance Concrete (HPC), often
calling for various bulk powder or fines additives, arefrequently purchased without consideration of their
respective silo storage requirements. Forinstance, cement is aerated to make it flowable or fluid-like.
Although weighing in some casesas little as 60 percent of certain cements (by volume), fly ash can be
handled much like cement,as the latter has higher design criteria but not always (Figure 1).
Design criteria
Consider, for example, a conical or round silo constructed of steel containing a product that
has a lower friction coefficient (wall friction angle) than a referenced designer's cement on
steel. Assume a producer selects a product, such as fly ash (60-74 lb. per cu. ft.), and placesthe
product in a storage silo without consulting the silo designer. Because the material islighter than the
cement product (85-94 lb. per cu. ft.), the producer presumably feels safe indoing so. A problem,
however, arises in that the cement silo was designed to accommodate theproperties of normal weight
cement. The silo designer, assuming a mass flow discharge of afluidized product that may typify fly ash
as well, was also taking into account a wall frictionangle creating a structural vertical transfer of weight
to the cylinder wall of the silo. With itsround surface area compared to the coarse surface area of
cement, the lighter fly ash has alower friction angle; consequently, a greater amount of the silo product
weight is now creatingpressure on the silo hopper or bottom cone section far greater than specified
in the originaldesign. A complete hopper or cone section failure could result. Should the friction angle
begreater, higher compressive loads will be transferred to the cylinder wall, which might causebuckling
or the silo's collapse (Figure 2).

Thus, informed producers recognizes that avoiding errors in silo use contributes to a saferenvironment
and workplace. Silo failure can be catastrophic to workers and their businesses.Contacting your silo
designer before placing any product in the vessel is always advisable.
Multi-compartment silos
Whenever a conical silo is split into separate compartments, careful design calculations arerequired.
Various design pitfalls must be avoided that can lead to asymmetric pressuresimposed on internal
components, given certain product, ambient and load conditions (wind,rain, snowfall, and seismic).
These pressures can cause uneven emptying and further loadingor pressure peaks. The silo designer
must be knowledgeable regarding inserts involved in aproperly constructed split or multi-sectional
storage silo and their effect in relation to pressurepeaks resulting from erratic flow properties. Stiffening
supports and multiple openings in silohoppers or cone bottoms must be incorporated as needed.
Other considerations are the structural ramifications of a multi-compartment silo, which maybe full on
one side and completely or partially empty on the other(s) under high wind loads orin severe weather
conditions, such as tornado (vacuum conditions) or hurricane (severe upliftand external wind-load
pressures). Even in the absence of pressure peaks due to externaladverse factors, nonuniform
pressures created by eccentric withdraw from multi-compartmentsilos can cause total structural failure.
Designing a multi-compartment silo by splitting asimple, single-compartment storage tank is a recipe
for potential disaster.
The same design criteria apply even more stringently to rectangular or square silos. Placing amassflow product like cement or fly ash into a bin-style silo that may have been designed forfunnel-flow
material properties imagine how sand is drawn down can create an
underdesign situation. If mass flow develops, the pressure may be much greater than designcriteria
would accommodate in a funnel flow bin. Consequences could include silo collapse.While the reverse
situation may occur, the ramifications are not as great. Clearly, if yourstorage bin or silo is designed as
a rectangular structure for bulk powders, it must be fit for thestorage and discharge of mass-flow
products (if that is what you plan to store) and not funnel-flow products.
Temperature considerations
Observing that the belts are not running upon viewing a plant, a concrete producer mayassume the
plant is idle. Yet, the plant is always in motion, especially where storage silos areconcerned. Silos are
like huge sails when subjected to wind loads; they deflect, sway, and evenrotate. However, the silo
moves differently depending on how full or how empty it is at agiven time. Think of the silo's movement
relative to its contents as comparable to the positionof the sail to the wind the effect is that great.
The variables are seemingly inexhaustible, butcertainly, load combinations for wind and uplift in silos
that are full, partially full, and emptyare important design criteria. Empty silos, for example, are not
necessarily creating lower loads.
Picture a cool evening about ten o'clock on a Saturday. A fully exposed silo (any shape) hasbeen
standing in the sun all day long. Now, consider that the plant is idle, and the silo is nearlyfull, having
been partially filled last at two o'clock on the previous afternoon. Suddenly, ahuge implosion occurs;
cement (or any given powder) rains down on everything. Fortunately,all plant personnel had left the
yard for the weekend.
What could have happened? The scenario described here actually occurred and was caused by

something silo design engineers refer to as thermal ratcheting (Figure 3, page 24).
During daylight hours as the ambient temperature rises, the silo enlarges mostly incircumference. The
degree of expansion is determined by the specified hoop strength,i.e.,tensile wall strength, and/or by
incidental geometries, that is, the shape of the silo and theexistence of rigid areas in the structure. The
stored material at rest is allowed to settle as thewall expands. When night comes and the temperature
drops, the silo wall contracts. The nearfull silo cannot push the material back up the silo wall without a
substantial increase in tensilestresses. This thermal ratcheting effect is compounded for every day the
temperature rises, asthe sun warms the silo, followed by a cool night when a near-full silo sits idle. For
this reason,bolted construction silos are often welded on the interior after assembly, and rivets and
boltsmust meet exacting specifications. Clearly, in the case of a silo of bolted-construction design,the
entire structure is only as good as the fasteners used and the personnel who areresponsible for
tightening them.
Scribd
Upload a Document
Search Documents

Explore

Sign Up
|

Log In
/ 26

Download this Document for Free

SOLIDS NOTES 10, George G. Chase, The University of Akron
10. HOPPER DESIGN
People have stored powdered materials for thousands of years, at least as far back as manhas
harvested and stored crops.Prior to the 1960s storage bins were designed largely byguessing.This was
all changed by the research of Andrew W. Jenike in the 1960s.Hiswork identified the criteria that affect
material flow in storage vessels.Jenike developedthe theory and methods to apply the theory, including
the equations and measurement ofthe necessary material properties.His primary works are published
in "Gravity Flow ofBulk Solids", Bulletin 108, University of Utah Engineering Experiment Station,
October1961, and Bulletin 123, November 1964.*
Hoppers are used in industry for protection and storage of powdered materials.Hoppers
must be designed such that they are easy to load.More importantly, hoppers must be
designed such that they are easy to unload.
The way the hopper is designed affects the rate of flow of the powder out of the hopper,if
it flows at all.Also, the way the hopper is designed affects how much of the stored
material can discharge and whether there mixing of solid sizes or dead space that reducesthe effective
holding capacity of the hopper.These issues and others discussed here areimportant to consider when
designing storage hoppers.
10.1 Flow Modes

There are two primary and distinct types of flow of solids in hoppers, mass flow and
funnel flow.There is also a special case that is a combination of these two flows called
expanded flow.These flows get their names from the way in which solids move in the
hoppers.The characteristics and differences between the flows are depicted in Figure 101.
The primary difference between mass and funnel flow is that in mass flow all of thematerial in the bin is
in motion, though not necessarily all with the same velocity.Infunnel flow only a core of material in the
center above the hopper outlet is in motionwhile material next to the walls is stationary (stagnant).
Hoppers come in a variety of shapes and designs, not just conical.Figure 10-2 shows
some of the more common designs found for mass flow hoppers.Also, a variety of
designs are possible for funnel flow hoppers, shown in Figure 10-3.
* Other references that give a good summary on this topic include:
1.J. Bridgwater and A.M. Scott, Flow of Solids in Bunkers, in Handbook of
Fluids in Motion, N.P. Cheremisinoff and R. Gupta eds., Butterworth, Ann Arbor,
chapter 31, 807-846, 1983.
2.R. Holdich, Fundamentals of Particle Technology, Midland, Loughborough, UK,
2002.
3.M. Rhodes, Principles of Powder Technology, Wiley, New York, 1990.
10-1

SOLIDS NOTES 10, George G. Chase, The University of Akron

(B) FUNNEL FLOW
ACTIVE FLOW
CHANNEL
STAGNANT
REGION
MINIMUM LEVEL
FOR MASS FLOW
IN HOPPER IS
0.75 TO 1 x D
(A) MASS FLOW
D
FLOW
(C) EXPANDED FLOW
MASS FLOW
FUNNEL
Figure 10-1.In mass flow (A) all material moves in the bin including near the walls.Infunnel flow (B) the
material moves in a central core with stagnant material near the walls.Expanded flow (C) is a
combination of mass flow in the hopper exit and funnel flow inthe bin above the hopper (normally used
in retrofit situations).

Dp
L
p
(E) WEDGE
(F) PYRAMID
(A) CONICAL HOPPER
Da
(B) SQUARE OPENING

(C) CHISEL
Figure 10-2.Common designs for mass flow hoppers.
10-2

SOLIDS NOTES 10, George G. Chase, The University of Akron

D
(A) PYRAMID,
SQUARE OPENING
p
Dc
(B) CONICAL
(D) CYLINDRICAL
FLAT-BOTTOMED
CIRCULAR OPENI
N
(C) CYLINDRICALFLAT-BOTTOMEDSLOT OPENING
Dc

Figure 10-3.Common designs for funnel flow hoppers.

10.2 Hopper Design Problems
Hopper design problems are normally one of two types; either the material does not
discharge adequately from the opening in the hopper or the material segregates during the
flow.The problems that we would like to solve or avoid are

RATHOLING/PIPING.Ratholing or piping occurs when the core of the

hopper discharges (as in funnel flow) but the stagnant sides are stable enoughto remain in place
without flowing, leaving a hole down through the center ofthe solids stored in the bin (See Figure 104a).

FLOW IS TOO SLOW.The material does not exit from the hopper fast
enough to feed follow on processes.

NO FLOW DUE TO ARCHING OR DOMING.The material is cohesive

enough that the particles form arch bridges or domes that hold overburden
material in place and stop the flow completely (Figure 10-4b).

FLUSHING.Flushing occurs when the material is not cohesive enough to

form a stable dome, but strong enough that the material discharge rate slows
down while air tries to penetrate into the packed material to loosen up some of
the material.The resulting effect is a sluggish flow of solids as the air
penetrates in a short distance freeing a layer of material and the process starts
over with the air penetrating into the freshly exposed surface of material
(Figure 10-4c).

INCOMPLETE EMPTYING.Dead spaces in the bin can prevent a bin from

complete discharge of the material.
10-3

SOLIDS NOTES 10, George G. Chase, The University of Akron

SEGREGATION.Different size and density particles tend to segregate due to
vibrations and a percolation action of the smaller particles moving through the
void space between the larger particles.
(B) BRIDGING/DOMING
(A) RATHOLING
OR PIPING
PARTICULATE
SOLIDS
BIN WALLS
SOLIDS
AIR IN
(C) FLUSHING
OUT
Figure 10-4.Common problems in bin/hopper design.
TIME CONSOLIDATION.For many materials, if allowed to sit in a hopper over a

long period of time the particles tend to rearrange themselves so that they become
more tightly packed together.This effect is referred to as Dense Packing by Foust in
the bed porosity in Figure 4-5.The consolidated materials are more difficult to flow
and tend to bridge or rat hole.

CAKING.Another important effect is called caking.Caking refers to the

physiochemical bonding between particles what occurs due to changes in humidity.
Moisture in the air can react with or dissolve some solid materials such as cement and
salt.When the air humidity changes the dissolved solids re-solidify and can cause
particles to grow together.A good description of this effect is given by Griffith (E.J.
Griffith, Cake Formation in Particulate Systems, VCH Publishers, NY, 1991).
10.3Predicting Mass Flow
Many of the problems associated with bin and hopper design can be avoided by
designing the hopper to operate in mass flow mode.The required cone angle from the
vertical axis for mass flow to occur ranges from 40 to 0.
Mass flow is not necessary in all cases.In some situations a mass flow hopper design isnot practical
due to the head room required.Table 10-1 summarizes the key advantagesand disadvantages of both
mass flow and funnel flow hoppers.In most applications ifyou have a choice you want mass flow.But in
the extreme cases or in cases in whichmass flow is not really necessary then you may opt for the
shorter funnel flow hopper design.
10-4

SOLIDS NOTES 10, George G. Chase, The University of Akron

Table 10-1.Advantages and Disadvantages of Mass and Funnel Flow Hoppers
MASS FLOW

FUNNEL FLOW
ADVANTAGES

Flow is more consistent

Reduced radial segregation

Stresses on walls are more

predictable
Effective use of full bin
capacity
First-in = First-out
Low head room required
DISADVANTAGES More wear of wall surfaces
Higher stresses on the
walls
More head room required

Rat holing

Segregation

First-in = Last-out

Time consolidation effects

can be severe
Poor distribution of
stresses on walls may cause
silo collapse
Flooding
Reduction of effective
storage capacity.
10.3.1 BINDING MECHANISMS
There are a number of mechanisms that cause solid materials to bind together and thus
make flow difficult if not impossible.Some of these have been mentioned above.
Binding mechanisms include:
1.Solids Bridge (ie. Caking)

Mineral Bridges

Chemical reactions

Partial melting

Binder hardening

Crystallization of dissolved substances

2.Adhesion and Cohesion
There are a number of effects that are lumped together and are termed

adhesion and cohesion.These include mechanically deformable particles

that can plastically deform and bind to each other or with bin walls.
Usually, very small particles display adhesion properties.
3. Interfacial forces.
10-5
Hopper Design
Download this Document for FreePrintMobileCollectionsReport Document
Info and Rating
Follow
naren_10
Share & Embed
Related Documents

PreviousNext
1.
p.

p.

p.

2.
p.

p.

p.

3.

p.

p.

p.

4.
p.

p.

p.

5.
p.

p.

p.

6.
p.

p.

p.

7.
p.

p.

p.

8.
p.

p.

p.

9.
p.

p.

p.

10.
p.

p.

p.

11.
p.

p.

p.

12.
p.

p.

p.

13.
p.

p.

p.

14.
p.

p.

p.

15.
p.

p.

p.

16.
p.

p.

More from this user

PreviousNext
1.
30 p.

26 p.

10 p.

2.
31 p.

12 p.

27 p.

3.
31 p.

38 p.

23 p.

4.
23 p.

25 p.

29 p.

5.
36 p.

36 p.

19 p.

6.
20 p.

20 p.

24 p.

7.
15 p.

17 p.

26 p.

8.
10 p.

31 p.

12 p.

9.
27 p.

Recent Readcasters

Add a Comment

Upload a Document
Search Documents

Follow Us!

scribd.com/scribd

twitter.com/scribd

facebook.com/scribd
About

Press

Blog

Partners

Scribd 101

Web Stuff

Scribd Store

Support

FAQ

Developers / API

Jobs

Terms

Copyright

Privacy

Copyright 2011 Scribd Inc.

Language:
English