EFFECTS OF LOCAL VIBRATION ON SILO DISCHARGE AND JAMMING;EMPLOYING EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Blockage is a common problem in many practical applications of silos, and vibration seetns to be a practical aid to overeotne this problem. To observe the effects of different vibrational parameters on its efficiency, a11 experimental setup was developed. The silo was made of transparent plates to provide the possibility of watching the materials inside it. The outlet mass was recorded on computer via a weigher 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 the jamming. Moreover, relevant tests were conducted to reveal the effects of the vibration frequency. A vibrotneter 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 in some extent. It was seen that the vibration does not influence instant discharge rate although affects the average rate considerably.

Keywords:

Silo , Vibration , Discharge.Jamming , Blockage ,