(143b) Comparisons of Continuum FEM Models of Hopper Flow of Particulate Materials to Experimental Measurements

Finite element analysis with elasto-plastic models such as the Mohr-Coulomb and Drucker-Prager models have been shown to agree well with steady-state continuum theories for symmetric hopper geometries. For isotropic cohesion-less particulate materials with constant bulk properties, experimental observations of hopper velocity and stress profiles match closely with continuum theories and the mass flow rate agrees with empirical correlations. In this work, finite element modeling is applied to cohesive and variable property particulate materials flowing through symmetric and asymmetric hoppers and quantitative comparisons are made to experimental results. Based on these comparisons, limitations of FEM modeling with elasto-plastic models are reported.