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Vertical Wall Loads in a Model Grain Bin with Non-Axial Internal Inserts

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  024031,  2002 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.9531) @2002
Authors:   M. Molenda, M.D. Montross, J. Horabik, I.J. Ross, S.A. Thompson
Keywords:   wheat, wall moment, granular mechanics

A study was conducted to estimate the degree of load asymmetry in a bin with non-axial internal inserts. Internal inserts in the form of an annulus segment of various dimensions were attached to the wall and their influence on vertical wall loads during centric filling and discharge in a model bin were measured. Wall and floor loads were measured in a corrugated walled, model grain bin with a diameter of 2.44 m and a height of 7.3 m filled with soft red winter wheat to a depth of 6.7 m (height-to-diameter ratio of 2.75). Tests were conducted with inserts that extended circumferentially 30 , 60 or 90 around the bin, having a width of 7.6, 15 or 23 cm and attached to the bin wall at H/D ratios of 0.31, 0.62 or 0.95. These inserts represented between 1 and 8.6% of the bin floor area.

The results showed that with centric filling considerable asymmetry of static wall loads occurred. The reason for this was the horizontal component of velocity of the grain stream filling the bin. This produced a wall moment of approximately 3 kNm. The wall moment generated by imperfect centric filling was decreased or increased when the insert was installed depending on its angular position. For a 23 cm wide, 90 insert, which was the worst observed situation, the wall moment was approximately equal (5 kNm) to that produced by eccentric discharge through an orifice located at a distance of 0.3 radius from the bin center. The onset of symmetric discharge resulted in an increase in vertical wall load and a decrease in the wall moment. A change of flow pattern from mass flow to funnel flow, as well as the influence of the insert were clearly shown by the change in wall moment with discharge time.

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