Ring-Shaped Baffle Reduces Silo Wall Vibrations
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Solution Overview
Problem
The interaction of granular material particles, such as DRI pellets, with container walls during flow causes vibrations, leading to damage in containers and their supporting structures in industrial plants.
Innovation Solution
A ring-shaped baffle is installed in the tapered discharge part of the container, forming a stagnant zone of granular material particles in contact with the container wall, which reduces the friction between the particles and the wall, thereby decreasing vibrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If granular material particles flow downwardly through the container, then material discharge efficiency is improved, but vibrations and quaking occur causing damage to containers and supporting structures
Solution Approach 1:
A ring-shaped baffle is introduced as an intermediary element between the flowing granular material and the container wall. The baffle creates a stagnant zone that acts as a buffer, reducing the direct interaction and friction between the moving particles and the container wall, thereby decreasing vibrations while maintaining material flow through its central opening
Solution Approach 2:
The container interior is segmented into two distinct zones by the ring-shaped baffle: a stagnant zone where particles rest on the baffle's flat surface, and a flowing zone where particles move through the central opening. This segmentation allows the system to maintain overall material discharge efficiency while isolating the harmful vibration-generating contact between particles and container wall
2Stability of the object's composition
If the container is designed for mass flow to eliminate stagnant zones, then material flow uniformity is improved, but friction between particles and container wall increases causing more vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by creating a stagnant zone specifically at the location where particles contact the container wall, while maintaining mass flow conditions in the central region. The ring-shaped baffle introduces a localized stagnant region that reduces wall friction and vibrations without disrupting the overall uniformity of material flow through the container
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The implementation of the ring-shaped baffle significantly reduces quaking and shaking phenomena, lowering the wear rate of the container wall and improving the operational efficiency of containers handling abrasive granular materials.
Implementation Method 1
forming a stagnant zone of granular material particles in contact with the container wall, which reduces the friction between the particles and the wall
Implementation Method 2
The interaction of the granular material particles e.g. for example DRI pellets and/or lumps, moving downwardly by gravity, and the container walls, no matter if designed and built for 'mass flow' or 'funnel flow ', causes that the containers vibrate, shake or quake
Data Source
AI summary
A container with lower vibrations, such as quaking and shaking as well as noise effects, known also as hooting, honking or howling, and an effective and cost-competitive method and device to decrease such phenomena during the discharge of granular material particles from silos, hoppers, bins, reactors and in general containers for storing or processing such granular material particles. The container includes at least one baffle that is attached to the container wall, in the lower portion or at the bottom of the tapered discharge part of said container, protruding towards the central axis of its tapered discharge part. The baffle forms a stagnant zone in the bed of the granular material particles in contact with the container wall whereby the particles in that zone flow under the friction against other particles instead of the friction between the particles and the wall.