Placement of a non-isosceles-triangle insert in an asymmetrical two-dimensional bin-hopper

This work presents a novel and simplified method for determining placement and size of a non-isosceles-triangle insert that eliminates the quasi-stagnant zone next to the wall in an asymmetrical bin-hopper. A two-dimensional model silo with a rectangular base was created to observe flow patterns, analyze flow regions and support this proposed technique for designing a non-isosceles-triangle insert. Placement of the non-isosceles-triangle insert for different hopper geometries and different insert apex angles was determined and tested. Moreover, a simple method was developed to plot the path lines of black particles that are in the same height at beginning. Accordingly, the area of the quasi-stagnant zone next to the wall of bin-hopper could be calculated properly, and these path lines also supported the discussion of flow regions in this investigation. Experimental results demonstrate that a non-isosceles-triangle insert designed using the proposed method effectively reduces the quasi-stagnant zone next to the wall in an asymmetrical bin-hopper.