Segregation of construction materials in silos. Part 2: Identification of relevant segregation mechanisms

N. Engblom*, H. Saxén, R. Zevenhoven, H. Nylander, G. G. Enstad

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    12 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The segregation of commercial dry mineral-based construction products and a mixture resembling these has been investigated in silos of different scale, and the results are presented in two parts. This work encompasses the second part, where the relevant segregation mechanisms for the handling of construction materials in silos have been identified through experiments in small scale (0.5m3). The radial distribution of the particles at filling was determined by sampling from the upper layers of the heap and the influence of different initial conditions on the segregation at discharge was investigated, the overall discharge flow pattern being identified with tracer particles. The results imply that the quality of the mixture is mainly determined by the segregation induced at filling and by the discharge flow pattern, that is, no segregation mechanisms are active to a significant degree at discharge. The findings from the experiments in the small silo were confirmed both in intermediate (20m3) and large (70m3) scale. Based on these results, it is suggested that segregation of commercial construction materials handled in silos is caused by a combination of embedding, fluidization, and air-current effects.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)161-178
    Number of pages18
    JournalParticulate Science and Technology
    Volume30
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2012
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • construction material
    • experiment
    • segregation
    • silo

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