Effects of local vibration on silo discharge and jamming: Employing an experimental approach

Blockage is a common problem in many practical silo applications, and vibration seems to be a practical solution to overcome this problem. An experimental setup was developed to observe the effects of different vibrational parameters on vibrator anti-jamming efficiency. The silo was made of transparent plates to provide the possibility of watching the materials inside it. The outlet mass was recorded on a computer via a weighing load cell. The vibrator was installed at different locations on the silo walls to reveal effects of the vibrator position on its efficiency to prevent jamming. Moreover, relevant tests were conducted to reveal the effects of the vibration frequency. A vibrometer instrument with contacting probe was employed to measure the local vibration characteristics. The measured data was used to identify the vibration dimensionless acceleration. It was concluded that the location of the vibrator significantly affects its anti-jamming ability. Furthermore, it was observed that the vibration frequency and acceleration influence the impact of the vibration to prevent the silo jamming to some extent. It was observed that while the vibration does not influence the instant discharge rate it does considerably affects the average rate.