The effect of inverted cone inserts design on granular behavior in silo

Abstract

This paper proposes to study the effect of the insert design on behavior of granular flow during silo discharge. The mathematical model based on the principle of linear momentum and angular momentum for the motion of granular during silo discharge is presented. Discrete Element Method is applied to obtain the solution of the model. The silo with an inverted cone insert is used in this study. The impact of three different vertex angles of the insert including ,  and  and four locations of the insert on flow pattern, velocity and wall pressure of granular flow during discharging process are investigated. The results show that the mathematical model can capture the granular behavior in the silo. The vertex angles and positions of the insert have significant effects on the flow pattern, the velocity eld and wall pressure in the silo.