Modelling of full-scale silo experiments with flow correcting inserts using material point method (MPM) based on hypoplasticity

Abstract

Flow patterns in bulk solids in silos are of importance for stresses exerted on silo walls. They may be changed by using different inserts. The paper discusses numerical results on confined granular flow of cohesionless sand in a full-scale metal silo with different symmetrically placed inserts, used for correcting a flow pattern (double cone, cone-in-cone and inverted cone). The material point method (MPM) was employed to simulate the dynamic flow of sand in a silo. To describe the flow behaviour of cohesionless sand, a hypoplastic constitutive model was adopted. The emphasis was on flow patterns and pressures on both silo walls and inserts. The numerical outcomes were directly compared with the corresponding experiments in a full-scale silo. A satisfactory agreement was achieved between numerical and experimental outcomes. In MPM calculations, the effect of initial void ratio of sand, wall friction angle, insert position and grid cell size was also studied.