Effects of wall material hardness on choice of wall materials for design of hoppers and silos for the discharge of hard bulk solids

This paper presents the results of a programme of experimental work designed to assess the industrial significance of plate hardness in hopper and silo construction upon the obtaining of reliable flow of hard bulk solids from the vessel. Previously, it has generally been thought that plate finish is the dominant effect in determining frictional characteristics, and no attention has been given to the effect of plate hardness. However this programme has shown that the effect of plate hardness can in practice be quite significant, to the extent that choosing increased plate hardness can reduce the steepness of the hopper wall needed for reliable discharge and hence the headroom requirement for the vessel.