ABSTRACT
The transfer and storage of kaolin are important steps for its beneficiation process. The design of a system for such purposes requires a detailed study of the dynamic behavior of granular material that is being used. Problems can occur in silos, in many cases, due to incorrect design by not considering the granulated material flow properties. Therefore, this work has focused on analyzing the kaolin flow properties for particular moisture content (4%) in order to design a conical hopper to provide a mass flow (uniform flow) pattern of the material. Initially, the kaolin flow properties were obtained from laboratory tests. Then, from the kaolin characterization, the design of a conical hopper was performed using Jenike theory in order to determine the angle that provides the desired flow pattern (mass flow). Next, the minimum discharge diameter to prevent flow obstruction (cohesive arching) was calculated by the theories of Jenike and Enstad. Experimental test results using acrylic silos with different configurations were obtained to validate the theoretical results. The results of experimental tests demonstrated good concordance with the theoretical results, which have shown that the design by Jenike theory is more conservative than the Enstad theory in determining the minimum diameter.
Keywords:
Silo; hopper; mass flow; kaolin
