FLOW DYNAMICS OF GRANULAR-MATERIALS IN A HOPPER

A mathematical model capable of describing the macroscopic movement of an assembly of discs in a hopper was developed based on constitutive equations described by the Voigt-Kelvin rheological model with a slider and on the equations of motion for translation and rotation of each disc. The validity of the present model was confirmed by comparing the order of discs discharged from the hopper, arrangement of discs after charging in the hopper and stress distribution at the wall obtained from experiments. The model was applied to the macroscopic flow of the assembly of granular materials of different disc size subjected to gravitational force in a hopper. The model describes the frictional wall effect in solid and abnormal flow behavior such as bridge formation.