Effect of outlet characteristics and particle properties on the flow characteristics inside conical hoppers

Precisely predicting the hopper discharge rate and trajectory is of great significance for industrial processing of granular materials. This study uses the DEM (Discrete Element Method)-based open-source software LIGGGHTS to analyze the flow behavior of spherical particles in six cone-shaped hoppers with different outlet shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon and hexagon) with the various opening area. It was found that the particle flow velocity and mass flow rates are mainly determined by the outlet areas, while the outlet shape have an obvious influence on the particle trajectory which determines the stagnation area in the hopper. The results of the present study can provide meaningful guidance for the optimization of industrial hopper structure design and control.