The segregation of cement clinker particles in a mill-feeding hopper: PIV experiment and FEM modelling

The feeding hopper is frequently used in grinding cement clinker to ensure a stable and homogeneous feed of particles. However, due to the large variances in size, the clinker particles can segregate significantly and cause undesirable fluctuations in the subsequent grinding process. This work investigates the flow and segregation of particles in mill-feeding hoppers using the experimental PIV technique and the FEM simulation. The results demonstrate the different zones of fine and coarse particles, corresponding to the flow patterns of the hopper, are affected by the material parameters. Particularly, it is found that the geometric design of the hopper also has a great influence on the flow and segregation. An optimized hopper design using FEM is shown to effectively alleviate the segregation problem in the mill feeding hopper.