Hopper inserts for improved solids flow

Storing solid materials in hoppers, bins and silos is ubiquitous in the chemical process industries (CPI), as are challenges associated with dispensing them. In many cases, using vessels with steep cones and smooth walls is enough to provide reliable flow. However, it is not always feasible to design and install hoppers with the optimal geometry, and many solids have difficult or variable flow properties. In those cases, a hopper insert may improve flow. Inserts can be defined as any static fitting mounted onto the inside of a bulk storage container to alter the internal space of the vessel. The performance of inserts depends on hopper geometry, feeder type (or discharge control), physical properties of the particulate solids and on ambient and operating conditions, so insert selection requires an overall systems approach and should be based on the measured values of bulk solid properties.

When to consider inserts Despite seeming somewhat counterintuitive, inserting an obstacle in the flow path or using a wall surface with higher resistance to slip can provide a crucial difference that allows reliable flow by influencing the local forces experienced by individual particles within bulk solids. Common reasons for installing inserts include the following: Reduce segregation or particle attrition at the inlet region Reduce inertial compaction by inflow and minimize dust generation at inlet Promote or sustain gravity flow at outlet Secure flow through smaller outlets Increase flowrates Secure mass flow with less-steep wall inclinations Reduce segregation Blend contents on discharge

 Reduce compaction pressures and accelerate de-aeration inside hopper Counteract caking tendency

Insert effects Gravity flow occurs when the bulk material is deformed to the shape of the flow channel by stresses generated from the loss of potential energy of the system. Energy is lost in the form of friction, either by sliding on the container walls or by internal friction when the flow-channel boundary is within a bed of static product. Bulk solid will not flow unless the stresses generated in the flow channel due to gravity are greater than the local yield strength of the material. Inserts act to improve the probability of gravity flow in one of three ways: by minimizing the development of strength in the bulk material; modifying the flow channel to generate stresses adequate to deform the bulk; and applying external forces. For example, impact of the fill stream onto a previously deposited bed of material can cause compaction. An insert to slow, diffuse, or deflect the flow path, in order to prevent the impact load on the sensitive flow region immediately above the outlet point, will reduce the forces that compact the material.

Insert types

Figure 1a and 1B

Figure 1c.

Figure 1d.

Flow-channel modifiers. Modifying solids flow channels can make the shape of convergence more favorable for flow. A cone-in-cone insert (Figure 1A, 1B) creates two flow channels a central portion where steep walls promote mass flow, and an outer region that is an annular, V-shaped

flow channel in which material deforms easier than in a cone. An inverted cone insert (Figure 1C) changes the flow channel from a radial flow form into a type of annular V-shaped form that has greater deforming capacity. Bullet-type inserts (Figure 1D) form a two-stage flow channel in the same form. All can increase the rate of discharge, expand the flow path or induce mass flow.

Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 4. Inverted V-beam. Fitting a cross of inverted V-beam at the transition point between the parallel and converging sections of a vessel (Figure 2) usually reduces overpressures, provided that the remaining flow areas are large enough to prevent arching. Slip-resisting fittings. Another approach to achieving the same transference of vertical stress is using slip-resistant fittings that ring the inside of the vessel at various elevations (Figure 3). Layers of coarse grids. For some materials that are sensitive to compaction, such as soft, elastic or fibrous materials, layers of coarse grids can help avoid undue compaction forces (Figure 4). With the correct grid openness and intergrid spacing, the vessel contents exert only a small pressure on the layer below, but the granules dribble through each grid. Inverted V-plates. In large hoppers storing pressure-sensitive granules, arrays of inverted V-shaped plates can be suspended from the roof of a silo or hopper. The flexibility of suspension avoids the formation of stable supports around a flow channel, as the insert will tend to move toward a region of differentially reduced pressure, as from a static bed to a live flow channel, thereby favoring flow to develop in the previously static region. Tube inserts. The essential feature of tube inserts is that they weaken the circumferential stress in a conical hopper by redirecting the extraction of material from peripheral regions of the cross-section (Figure 5). Obstructing flow in the center favors flowdown from the shielded section

under the insert, which allows the remaining cross-section to converge in a skewed manner.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Wall liners. Liners with lower friction than the original walls provide a smoother transition from the vertical part of the hopper to the converging part. Inlet distributor. Diffusing the fill distribution of a hopper can reduce the effects of local concentration of the material (Figure 6). Vibrated inserts. A flat bar extended inward into the hopper from a wallmounted vibrator that is tuned to resonate at the natural frequency of the applied vibration can transmit vibration to the sensitive flow regions. A rotary vibrator on a frame with hanging rods that vibrate at a natural frequency will accelerate de-aeration. Material for this Facts at your Fingertips was adapted from the following article: Bates, L., Dhodapkar, S. and Klingzing, G., Using Inserts to Address Solids Flow Problems, Chem. Eng., July 2010, pp. 3237.