Flow rate from a vertical silo with a tilted orifice

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that rotating the orifice in a vertical silo can effectively control granular flow rate and direction, offering a practical alternative to silo tilting by analyzing flow dynamics and stagnant zones.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of modulating silo discharge flow rate by rotating the orifice, supported by experimental analysis and flow modeling.

Findings

Flow rate decreases with orifice angle but less than with silo tilting.

Adding grain-sized ridges collapses flow rate behavior with tilted silo results.

Flow velocity and stagnant zones are key to understanding flow modulation.

Abstract

The flow of dry granular materials from silos is of great practical interest in industry and of theoretical import for understanding multiphase dynamics. Recent studies have demonstrated that one way to control the rate of flow from a silo is to tilt it. However, this may not be practical in many industrial applications. Here, we demonstrate in experiments of quasi-2D silo discharge of monodisperse grains that the flow rate can be modulated by rotating the orifice - through elevating and shifting one side of the base - instead of tilting the entire silo. We use high-speed image analysis to track the average motion of grains in the silo. We first show that the flow rate decreases with orifice angle, but that this decrease is not as strong as when a silo is tilted or when a lateral orifice is used. However, with the addition of a grain-sized ridge on each side of the orifice, the flow rate collapses with prior tilted-silo results. We then characterize the flow velocity of grains exiting the orifice and highlight key features of the stagnant zones and slip zones on each orifice side. Finally, we model our results based on these measurements, demonstrating the importance of horizontal creep along slip zones next to the orifice and the narrowest opening cross-section through which the material flows. These findings reveal a simple method for controlling both flow rate and direction, and highlight the importance of both dynamics within and geometry of the stagnant zones near the orifice.