CHAPTER 5

HOPPER DESIGN
5.1 Bulk solid handling
Measuring the flow properties of bulk solids and how
to use this information for the design of storage
vessel.
Definitions:
Bin: Any upright container for storing bulk solids.
Silo: A tall bin, where H > 1.5D
Bunker: A shallow bin, where H < 1.5D
Hopper: A converging sloping wall section attached
to the bottom of a silo.
5.2 Solid flow pattern
As solid flow from a bin, the boundaries between
flowing and non-flowing regions define the flow
pattern.
Three types of common pattern:
i)
Funnel flow / core flow
ii) Mass flow
iii) Expanded flow
5.2.1Flow obstruction
Interruption of solid flow in a bin can be caused by 2
types of obstructions:
i)
An arch
Sometimes called as a bridge
Formed across a flow channel

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ii)

Bin opening / rathole

Formed when the flow channel empties,
leaving the surrounding stagnant material in
place.

Important in understanding the forces acting on the

wall of the bin and to the material.
5.3 Types of flow pattern
5.3.1Funnel flow / core flow:
Occurs in bin with flat bottom or hopper having
slopes too shallow or too rough to allow solid to slide
along the wall during the flow.
Funnel flow through an entire bin - Rathole, formed
when stagnant materials gains sufficient strength to
remain in place as flow channel empties (refer figure
10.1, page 266)
Material near to the bin wall becomes stagnant.
First in, last out or do not come out at all.
Rathole / pipe could form.
In severe cases, the material can form a bridge or
arch over the discharged opening.
The flow channel may not well defined
o particle segregation might occur.
o material surrounding the channel may be
unstable
o this will cause stop and start flowing, pulsating
or jelly flow.
o could lead to the damage of material structure.
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 As bin emptied; solid continually slough off the top

surface into the channel.
Storage bin having a funnel flow pattern is most
common in industry.
o the design do not consider the stagnant materials.
o thus, resulting in less discharged capacity.
Funnel flow is usually the least costly design.
It has several disadvantages when handling certain
materials:
i)

Flow rate from the discharged opening can be

erratic:
Arches tends to form and break.
Flow channel becomes unstable.
Upset volumetric feeder installed at the silo
discharged
Powder density at discharged vary widely due
to varying stresses in flow.

ii)

Fine powders :
Flush/aerated uncontrollably
Sudden collapse of rathole/arch

iii)

Caking/degrading of solid:
Left under consolidating stresses in the
stagnant areas.

iv)

A stable rathole/ pipe formed

Stagnant material gain sufficient strength to
remain stagnant.

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v)

Level indicator
Would not give correct signal on materials
level.
Submerged in stagnant area

Despite all of the above, funnel flow is still adequate

for (advantage) :
i)
Non-caking or non-degradable
ii) Discharge opening adequately sized to prevent
bridging/ratholing.

However, many mechanical devices could be used to

promote flow.

5.3.2

Mass flow:

Occurs in bin having steep and smooth hoppers.

Material discharges are fully active.
Flow channel coincides with the bin and hopper walls
i.e all materials is in motion and sliding against the
wall of bin and hopper.
Advantages:
i)

Erratic flow, channeling and flooding of powders are

avoided.

ii)

Stagnant regions in the silo are eliminated.

iii)

First in, first out flow occurs. Resulting in minimizing

caking, degrading and segregation during process.

iv)

Little particle segregation or eliminated

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v)

Uniform flow at the hopper outlet

flow is easily controlled
pressures are well predictable.

Disadvantages:
i)

Friction between moving solids and the silo.

resulting in erosion of the wall
could give rise to contamination of the solids by
the material of the hopper wall.
Serious erosion of the wall material.

ii)

For conical hoppers, the slope angle required to

ensure mass flow depends on the powder-powder
friction and the powder-wall friction.

There is no such thing as mass flow hopper - a

hopper that gives mass flow with one powder may
give core flow with another.
Mass Flow

Figure 10.2 pg 266

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Funnel / core flow

Figure 10.3 pg 267

Expanded flow:
Term used to describe flow in a vessel that combines
a core flow converging hopper with a mass flow
attached below it.
The mass flow hopper section ensures a uniform,
controlled flow from the outlet. Its upper diameter is
sized such that no stable pipe can form in the core
flow hopper portion above it.
Expanded flow is used where a uniform discharged in
desired, but where space or cost restrictions rule out
a fully mass flow bin.
This arrangement can be used to modify existing
funnel flow bins to correct flow problems.
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 Multiple mass flow hoppers are sometimes mounted

under a large core flow silo.
5.4 The Design Philosophy

Powder

Arch of powder with

sufficient strength to
prevent flow

Blockage or obstruction to flow = arching.

Figure 10.5 page 268

From above diagram:

powders develop strength under the action of
compacting stresses
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the greater the compacting stress, the greater

the strength developed

(Free-flowing solids such as coarse sand will never

develop compacting stress)
5.5 Flow- no flow criterion
Flow to occur:
strength developed by the solids under the action of
consolidating pressure to support obstruction to flow
is less than gravity flow of the solids.
An arch occurs:
when the strength developed by the solid greater
than the stresses acting within the surface of the
arch.
The hopper flow factor (ff)
the ff relates the stress developed in a particulate
solid within the compacting stress acting in a
particular hopper.

ff =

C compacting stress in the hopper

=
D stress developed in the powder

high value of ff means low flowability.

High C means greater compaction.
Low D means more chance of an arch forming.
The hopper depends on:
The nature of the solid
The nature of the wall material
The slope of the hopper wall
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5.5.1

Unconfined yield stress, y

y = yield stress of the powder in the exposed surface

of the arch.
For flow to occur:
- stresses developed in the powder forming the
arch are greater than the
unconfined yield
stress of the powder in the arch, flow will occur.
- For flow, D> y or
5.5.2

C
ff

>y

Powder flow function

the unconfined yield stress, Y of the solid varies with

compacting stress, C ;i.e:

y = fn ( C )
the relationship is determined experimentally
the relationship is called powder flow function
5.5.3

Critical condition for flow

 The limiting condition for flow:

c
ff

=y

 to reveal conditions under which the flow will occur.

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D/ y
(b)

Powder flow
function

(c)

(a) powder has a yield stress greater than c/ff no

flow occurs.
(b) if actual stress developed < crit :
no flow.
If actual stress developed > crit :
flow occurs.
(c) the powder has a yield stress less
flow occurs.

than c/ff

5.6 Critical outlet dimension

 For a given hopper geometry, the stress developed in
the arch is related to the size of the hopper outlet, B,
and the bulk solid, s, of the material.
 Minimum outlet dimension, B

B=

H ( ) crit
b g

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where

H() factor determined by the slope of the

wall.
g acceleration due to gravity.

 For conical hoppers:

H ( ) = 2.0 +

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Summary
 In designing to ensure mass flow form a conical
hopper, all the things below are required:
relationship between c and y.
the variation of ff by knowing:
1. the nature of powder- from knowing the
effective angle of the internal friction,.
2. The nature of the hopper wall- by knowing the
angle of wall friction, w.
3. The slope of the hopper wall by knowing ,
the semi-included angle of the conical
section, i.e. the angle between the sloping
hopper wall and the vertical.
 Knowing , w and , the hopper flow factor, ff can
be fixed.
 ff ( geometry, material of construction of the wall).
 knowing ff and the powder flow function (y vs.
c), then the critical stress in the arch can be
determined.
 Thus; the minimum size of the outlet found
corresponds to this stress.
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5.7 Shear cell test

 The Jenike shear cell test allows powder to be
compacted to any degree and sheared under
controlled load conditions. At the same time, shear
and stress can be measured.
 Powders change bulk solid under shear. Under the
action of shear:
- a loosely packed powder would contract (B)
- a very tightly packed powder would expand (B)
- a critically packed powder would not change in
volume.

Figure 10.8 page 272

 5 or 6 samples of powder are prepared.

 Normal force and shear force are recorded.
 The pair of values (normal and shear force) are
plotted to give a yield locus.
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 The end point of yield locus corresponds to critical

condition. Where initiative of flow is not accompanied
by a change in the bulk density.

Figure 10.9 pg 273

5.8 Mohr`s circle

 Represents the possible combination of normal
and shear stresses acting on any plane in a
powder (or a body) under stress.
 The entire process is repeated 2 or 3 times with
samples prepared with different B.
 In this way, a family of yield loci is generated.
 These yield loci characterize the flow properties of
the unaerated powder.

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Figure 10.10 pg 273

Figure 10.12 pg 275

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 Each point on a yield locus represents that point

on a particular Mohr`s circle for which failure or
yield of powders occurs.
 A yield locus is tangent to all the Mohr`s circle
representing stress system when the powder fail to
flow.
 a and b represents stress system under which the
powder would fail.
 c - stresses are insufficient to cause flow.
 d not relevant since the system cannot support
stress combinations above the
yield locus.
 a and b interest us in analyzing the flow.
5.9 Determination of y and c

Figure 10.13 pg 275

 Circle A- represents condition of the free surface of

the arch.
- at the free surface zero shear and zero normal
stress.
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- circle A must pass the origin.

- gives the value of unconfined yield stress, y
 Circle B- the Mohr`s circle is tangent to the yield
locus at its critical condition of failure.
 Major principle stress = compacting stress, c
5.10

Determination of from Shear Cell Test.

- effective angle of internal friction of the solid.

- tangent of the ratio of shear stress to normal stress.
YL yield locus
 For a free-flowing solid, there is only one yield locus
and coincides with the effective yield locus.
 The relationship between normal stress and shear
stress is known as friction.

Figure 10.14 pg 276

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5.11

Kinematic angle of friction between powder

and wall, w

 Also known as the angle of wall friction.

 Gives relationship between the normal stress acting
between powder and wall and the shear stress under
conditions.
 Wall yield locus is determined by shearing powder
against a sample of the wall material under various
normal load.

Figure 10.15 pg 277

 Kinematic angle of wall friction is the gradient of

the wall yield locus:

tan w =

shear .stress.at.the.wall
normal .stress.at.the.wall

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5.12 Determination of Hopper Flow Factor, ff.

Determination of the hopper flow factor, ff
Eg: = 30o
w= 19o
From the graph; = 30.5
(X)
o
allow 3 margin for safety
Thus; the semi-included angle of conical hopper
= 27.5o (Y)
 Thus; the hopper flow factor, ff = 1.8





Figure 10.16 pg 277

Figure 10.17 pg 278

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5.13 Summary of design procedure

 Shear cell test on powder give a family yield loci.
 Mohr`s circle stress analysis gives pairs of values of
y and c and the value of the effective of internal
friction, .
 Pairs of values of c and y give the powder flow
function.
 Shear cell tests on the powder and the material of the
hopper wall give the kinematic angle of wall friction,
w.
 w and are used to obtain hopper flow factor, ff and
semi- included angle of conical hopper wall slope,.
 Powder flow function and hopper flow factor are
combined to give the stress corresponding to the
critical flow- no flow condition, crit.
 crit , H() and bulk density, B are used to calculate
the minimum diameter of the conical hopper outlet, B.

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