Introduction
Hoppers of varying sizes and shapes are used in all kinds of industrial processes involving a wide variety of powders having different properties
It is well known that most fine powders are cohesive and have poor flowability. This leads to arching/doming or rat-holing in a hopper. Time consolidation further adds to this problem.
For value-added industries, e.g. pharmaceuticals, due to small batch sizes (e.g. 1000 Kgs) and often changing product lines, it is impractical to design and build geometrical mass flow hoppers