An alternative presentation of the design parameters for mass flow hoppers

Abstract

The procedure for determining the critical hopper outlet dimension and wall slope for mass flow hoppers by the Jenike method is well established and documented. However, existing presentations relating the bulk solid flow properties of effective angle of internal friction and the kinematic angle of wall friction with the hopper wall slope and flow factor for mass flow are often inconvenient for manual use and present difficulties when included in design programs suitable for microcomputers. This paper details an alternative presentation of the original Jenike flow factor charts. These alternative charts have been abbreviated to display only the critical design values in the border region between mass flow and funnel flow. The charts eliminate the need for imprecise parameter interpolations by displaying the required design parameters in the form of contours of constant wall slope and critical flow factor as a function of the effective angle of internal friction and the kinematic angle of wall friction. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the inherent advantages of this presentation for the evaluation of mass flow hopper geometries.