Stress Distribution During A Silo Filling Or A Discharging Process

The exploitation of the silos requires an accurate knowledge of the problems related to the processes of storage and discharge. The physical and mechanical characteristics of bulk material can be measured and controlled. Meanwhile, a bad management of the interaction between these characteristics and the storage conditions can give rise to a poor performance of the silo (flow rate during discharging, arching, etc.), or a failure of the structure. In order to investigate the principal disorders which can be observed during a filling and a discharge operation, the stress transmission within bulk materials is characterized with the help of discrete numerical simulations.