Powder Storage and Flow

ME59500

Credit Hours:

1

Learning Objective:

The goal of this course is to describe introductory methods for designing bins, hoppers, and chutes for
storing and transferring particulate bulk solids. Persons successfully completing the course will be able
to:

  1. describe common indices used to assess powder flow
  2. apply the method of differential slices to estimate stresses in a bin or hopper
  3. design a hopper for continuous mass flow using the Jenike methodology
  4. calculate the mass flow rate from a hopper
  5. design chutes to ensure continuous flow, and describe common devices used to monitor material levels and mass flow rates in hoppers

 

Description:

The goal of this course is to describe methods for characterizing powder flow and methods for designing bins, hoppers and chutes for storing and transferring particulate bulk solids.

 

Topics Covered:

  1. Introduction
  2. Powder flow indices
  3. Stress and Mohr's Circles
  4. The ideal Coulomb material
  5. Method of Differential Slices I
  6. Method of Differential Slices II
  7. Method of Differential Slices III
  8. Types of hopper flows
  9. Shear cell testing
  10. Hopper design
  11. Hopper mass flow rate
  12. Discharge devices
  13. Chutes

 

Prerequisites:

ME 30800 (Introductory Fluid Mechanics) and ME 32300 (Mechanics of Materials) or equivalents.

Understand concepts of stress, Mohr's circles, the linear momentum equation, mass flow rate, and dimensional analysis.

 

Applied / Theory:

30/70

 

Web Address:

https://purdue.brightspace.com

 

Homework:

Homework submitted on Gradescope

 

Projects:

No project

 

Exams:

No exams

 

Textbooks:

Course notes will be provided.

 

Computer Requirements:

Access to the internet to obtain notes and view videos. Homework submitted via Gradescope. Use of a spreadsheet, e.g. Excel, or programming language, e.g. Python or MATLAB, may be needed to complete homework assignments.