Link to the University of Pittsburgh Homepage
Link to the University Library System Homepage Link to the Contact Us Form

MODELING OF HOPPER DISCHARGE

Cheng, Jiaming/J (2013) MODELING OF HOPPER DISCHARGE. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

[img]
Preview
PDF
Primary Text

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Hoppers are widely used in many engineering processes. The discharging of granular mate- rials from a hopper is a critical topic of industrial importance, and the discharge flow rate from hoppers is the focus of the current work. Many parameters influence the discharge rate including: the hopper outlet width, the angle of the hopper wall, the particle size, and particle friction, and so on. Due to the expensive of examining a large variety of particle types and hopper conditions, computational simulation has been widely studied in an effort to establish an alternative method of determining critical factors impacting hopper flow.
In this thesis, the process of hopper discharge has been simulated by the Discrete Element Method (DEM), which is one of the most popular methods for granular flow simulation. To validate against existing experiments, all conditions were matched as closely as possible to those in the experiment. The particles used in our simulation are spheroids with diameters of 0.77 cm. The angles of the hoppers examined range from 0◦ to 90◦, while the opening sizes vary from 2.9 cm to 4.3 cm. Computationally, the friction coefficient has been adjusted several times and finally is set to 0.5 in the simulation in order to fit the experimental resultsas closely as possible. As a quantitative test of the simulation fidelity we compare the hopper empty time t – which is related to the hopper discharge rate – for these different hopper angles and hopper opening size. As a secondary test of the fit, the survival time τ, the normal force profile, the velocity profile, and the probability of jamming Ps are also computed and compared to existing experimental data from collaborators at Duke University. Ultimately, the goal of the work is to establish the degree of model fidelity necessary in order to closely mimic the experimental results obtained.


Share

Citation/Export:
Social Networking:
Share |

Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Cheng, Jiaming/Jchjm881008@gmail.com
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Thesis AdvisorMcCarthy, Joseph/Jmccarthy@engr.pitt.edu JJMCC
Committee MemberLi, Lei/Llel55@pitt.edu LEL55
Committee MemberEnick, Robert/Rrme@pitt.eduRME
Date: 31 January 2013
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 2 November 2012
Approval Date: 31 January 2013
Submission Date: 19 November 2012
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 74
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Swanson School of Engineering > Chemical Engineering
Degree: MS - Master of Science
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Granular flow, Hoper discharge, DEM simulation, Probability of jamming Particle Dynamics (PD), DEM simulation, Granular Media, Granular Flow, Collisional Flow.
Date Deposited: 31 Jan 2013 20:01
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 14:06
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16264

Metrics

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics


Actions (login required)

View Item View Item