Particulate Science and Technology, Vol.13, No.1, 7-21, 1995
A STUDY OF THE DISCHARGE OF COHESIVE POWDERS UNDER SIMULTANEOUS AERATION AND VIBRATION
The influence of applying simultaneous aeration and vibration on the discharge of cohesive powders from a laboratory scale cylindrical silo has been studied experimentally. The powders investigated were batches of potato starch powder of different moisture contents and therefore different degrees of cohesiveness. The cohesiveness of each powder batch is quantified in terms of its unconfined yield strength, which was determined in a triaxial cell. Discharge experiments were performed at different orifice diameters, vibration frequencies, aeration rates and vibration amplitudes. The results are mainly presented in the form of contour plots of discharge rate as a function of the aeration rate and the vibration intensity. Also the effect of the frequency of the vibration under conditions of constant vibration intensity is shown. The experimentally determined discharge rates are correlated using published expressions, and discharge coefficients have been determined empirically.