Ring Shear Testers are used for more than only flowability testing; they can also be used for quality assurance or product development. The Shear test is intended to help with hopper flow design.

In order to accomplish mass flow and eliminate flow blockages, the test findings can be used to calculate hopper slope angles and outlet dimensions.

By directly reading data from the RSTCONTROL programme, the new hopper design software imports flow parameters of bulk solids measured using Schulze Ring Shear Testers. A template for Microsoft EXCEL* can be used to enter results obtained with other tests.

The software’s straightforward interface makes it easy for the user to create the necessary graphs for unconfined yield strength, bulk density, internal friction, and other crucial parameters.

To provide a transparent process and the ability to intervene in crucial items to prevent mistakes caused by “stubborn” implementation of the design processes, interactivity is essential. Finally, the software produces a set of hopper design data that takes into account the significant impact of time consolidation, such as wall inclination angles for various hopper forms and key outlet dimensions to avoid cohesive arches or stable ratholes. The new programme eliminates the need for time-consuming iteration cycles at stress-dependent friction angles by taking into account all stress-dependencies indicated by measured data.

As a result, for instance, the hopper slope angle necessary for mass flow can be given as a function of the local hopper cross section or the outlet size, respectively. The results are supplied as a thorough pdf document, from which it is possible to look back and understand each phase of the interpretation process. This is essential for comprehensive hopper design documentation. The design of funnel flow silos is also featured, in addition to the mass flow silos for conical, wedge-shaped, and asymmetric wedge-shaped hoppers that take time consolidation into account. Based on Jenike’s original differential equations published in Bulletins 108/123, the software incorporates freshly derived design parameters (such as flow factors, ff). There are, however, additional methods that can be used in place of these.

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