How does internal angle of hoppers affect granular flow? Experimental studies using Digital Particle Image Velocimetry

Mechanical behaviour of powders and grains often displays features of solid-like and liquid-like characteristics of matter. In spite of processing granular materials quite extensively in the industries, their flow behaviour is still complex to understand under different process conditions. In this paper, using Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) and high speed videography, we probe systematically on the spatial and temporal distribution of the velocity fields of pharmaceutical excipient granules flowing though smooth hoppers with different internal (orifice) angles. This helps to visualise and identify the locations and formation of the flow channels and conversely the stagnation zones of granular materials inside the hoppers as a function of the internal angle of the hoppers. We show that even when a powder characterised as a free-flowing type in the conventional sense could experience a significant level of hindrance to flow when passing through smooth hoppers of different internal angles and its impact increases with increase in the internal angle. Theoretical predictions are made using experimentally evaluated grain-scale properties as input parameters for understanding the effects of hopper angle on the granular flow rate. A good level of agreement is obtained between the experimental and theoretical estimates of the granular flow rate in terms of the hopper angle. The outcomes presented here are a step forward in designing granular flow devices more efficiently in the future.