Discharge of a silo through a lateral orifice: Role of the bottom inclination versus friction

In this work we propose to identify the relative role of the inclination of gravitational acceleration and friction on the discharge flow rate of a granular media from a rectangular silo by varying the silo geometry thanks to an inclined bottom which ends up at a lateral outlet. The study is motivated by a nuclear safety problem: a fuel rod (modeled by an elongated silo) accidentally releases fuel fragments (modeled by grains). We performed experiments where we independently measured the mass flow rate and the velocity profiles, together with discrete particle simulations and continuum simulations with a frictional rheology described by a μ(I) constitutive law and taking into account the wall friction. We study monolayer flows and three-dimensional flows, and we propose an analytical model that predicts the discharge flow rate of particles from a rectangular silo with an inclined bottom according to its outlet aspect ratio and the bottom inclination angle.

Discharge flow of a bidisperse granular media from a silo: Discrete particle simulations

Discrete particle simulations are used to study two-dimensional discharge flow from a silo using both monodisperse and bidisperse mixtures. The density and the velocity profiles through the aperture are measured. In the monodisperse case, two particles' diameters are studied for different outlet diameters. In the bidisperse case, we varied the fine mass fraction of the mixture. In all cases, the density and the velocity profiles are found to follow the same self-similar law. Based on these observations and the previous work of Benyamine et al., a physical model is proposed to describe the flow of bidisperse mixtures giving an explicit expression for the flow rate that is in good agreement with the results.