The performance of the µ(I)-rheology model on flat bottom silos discharge

Abstract

The aim of this work is to explore the capability of the µ(I)-rheology model and its numerical implementation in addressing a silo discharge problem by computational simulation. In order to do so, the model was implemented in the general structure of an Eulerian multiphase solver based on the Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) method of the OpenFOAM(R) suite. First, the implementation is validated against the results of another Lagrangian and Eulerian codes in a two-dimensional discharge problem. After that, the model is tested against the experimental results of a lab-scale and industrial-scale discharge problem. While the results of the first one were satisfactory in terms of discharge rate, for the latter one, the model exhibits disagreements in the flow patterns inside the silo. The study shows the limits of applicability of the standard formulation of the model for real scale silos and sets the ground for further discussion and improvements.