Powder

Technology,

45 (1985)

43

43 - 56

Studies of Size Segregation in Filling and Emptying a Hopper

N. STANDISH
Department

of Metallurgy,

University

of Wollongong,

P.O. Box 1144, Wollongong

2500, N.S. W. (Australia)

(Received March 14, 1985; in revised form April 14, 1985)

SUMMARY

Studies are described of in-bin segregation,

flow pattern and discharge segregation of ternary mixtures of ore and coke (-8 +6.15;
-5 +4 and -2 +l mm) in a model Paul Wurth
hopper. Measuring techniques
used include
heap freezing,
tracer addition,
contour
mapping and screen analyses. The results
show that on filling the hopper small particles
segregate in the centre, large particles segregate towards the wall and medium-size particles remain essentially unsegregated,
i.e.
the concentration
of these particles in the
hopper is essentially uniform throughout and
equal to that of the feed. The concentration
of the other two sizes in the hopper (C) was
found to depend on feed composition
(CO),
the nature of the material employed
and
the position in the hopper. It is shown that
in-bin concentrations
may be expressed
by
a relationship C = COk, where k is an experimentally obtained segregation
constant. It
is also shown that material discharges from
the hopper according
to a sequence
core
flow-wall flow-scaffold flow, where the latter
represents
stagnant material at the hopper
wall that discharges last. Analysis of the
variances of tracer response curves indicates
some material intermixing
in the hopper
during discharge. The extent of this intermixing in the core region follows a dispersed
plug flow model exactly, whilst in the wall
region intermixing
is more enhanced
with
variance dependency
there being related to
the square of the material height in the hopper. In-bin segregation
and flow pattern
in the hopper influence size segregation in
the discharging material. Concentration
of the
small particles in the discharge stream is high
in the initial stages of discharge and low in the
final stages of discharge. For large particles
this pattern is reversed, whilst for medium003%5910/85/$3.30

size particles the concentration

in the discharge stream remains essentially constant
throughout
the discharge
cycle. Experimental discharge segregation
results show
satisfactory agreement with industrial data.
A method of predicting
discharge segregation from knowledge of in-bin segregation and
hopper flow pattern is suggested. This should
interest a wide section of the bulk solids
handling and processing industries.

INTRODUCTION

Size segregation of particulate

materials
is one of the major problems that plagues all
processing industries handling bulk solids
materials when the material to be processed
consists of particles varying greatly in size.
One industrial operation that is also of
great economic importance,
in which size
segregation can be particularly costly, is the
blast furnace ironmaking.
In the blast furnace, efficient ironmaking
requires that the processes of heat exchange
and chemical reactions between the hot
gases and the solids be carried out properly
in every region of the furnace. This means
having in the furnace an appropriate radial
distribution
of permeability
which is controlled in the only practical way available
by optimising the distribution
of the solid
burden materials (ore and coke) at the
materials surface (stockline).
It is normal
practice to charge the furnace in such a way
that finer materials are at the periphery to
prevent the hot gases from burning the
refractories,
and also to have, for a number
of operational reasons, a narrow region of
coarser particles in the centre.
The charging of many blast furnaces is
currently effected by the P-W top (gaul
Wurth Co., Luxembourg)
- system consist@ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands

44
Charging Conveyor

-Hoppa'

Flowgate.

Fig. 1. A blast furnace P-W top. Elevation.

ing normally of two side by side P-W hoppers

discharging material onto a rotating chute
which then distributes the material in the
furnace as illustrated in Fig. 1.
The ingenious engineering construction
of
the P-W revolving chute allows it to execute
all kinds of motion, both rotational and translational, and deposit material at any required
position. Naturally, the material deposited
on the stockline at any time is the material
leaving the chute, and the material on the
chute at any time is the material leaving the
P-W hopper at that time. Hence, it is obvious
that for proper burdening a knowledge of size
segregation in filling and emptying the P-W
hopper is essential.
However, despite the fact that the first P-W
charging system was adopted in 1970, and
currently some 100 furnaces all over the
world are equipped with this charging device,
very little effort has been devoted to
investigating size segregation features of this
hopper. The first paper on the subject appears
to have been that by Carmichael and Notman
[l] who, in 1980, reported the results of discharge segregation in the Redcar Blast
Furnace P-W hopper (85 m3). Two years
later Fukutake et al. [2], using a model P-W
hopper (0.2 m 3), investigated both discharge
segregation and in-bin flow pattern by placing
marked particles into pre-set location in the
hopper.

In a more recent paper, Kajiwara et al.

[ 31 reported the segregation of ore and coke
in a full-scale P-W hopper (95 m3). Their
investigations
also included in-bin flow
measurements by painting the entire volume
of the materials (!) in three or four colours
and sampling the discharge. Also, in a recent
paper, Standish and Jones [4] reported a
tracer study of discharge segregation in a
small model P-W hopper (0.003 m3) using
glass ballotini (1 - 4 mm dia.) charge and
beads of eight different colours placed in
various locations in the hopper.
All of the above investigators were primarily interested in the segregation problem
at the stockline of a blast furnace equipped
with a P-W charging system. Consequently,
the experimental
results and conclusions
were of a restrictive nature and were also
presented in a manner that would normally
be meaningful only to immediate workers
in the ironmaking industry.
However, since a P-W hopper is, in principle, a special case of bins and hoppers in
general, then it also follows that the segregation effects there are unlikely to be too different from those in other bins and hoppers
encountered
in the bulk solids industry in
general.
The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to
present the results of a size segregation study
in a model P-W hopper with a wider application in mind so that the bulk solids handling
industry in general may benefit from this
case study.

EQUIPMENT

AND EXPERIMENTAL

PROCEDURE

The model P-W hopper, shown in Fig. 2,

was of formed and soldered steel sheet construction, except for the top ring, which was
of a snap-fit construction.
A slide gate was
provided at the end of the chute for flow control.
The shape of the hopper in Fig. 2 is typical
of P-W hoppers, but the dimensions are l/
15th those of the actual P-W hoppers on
No. 5 Blast Furnace at the Australian Iron &
Steel Pty. Ltd. Port Kembla Works.
Because in practice
the hopper
is
alternately
filled with coke and ore (or
sinter), investigations
were conducted
with
both materials. The bulk of the work was

45

16.4

MEASURED

an cm

Pig. 2. Model P-W hopper. Elevation.

conducted
with ternary mixtures with the
sizes of both ore and coke particles being
the same, viz. -8 +6.15 mm; -5 +4 mm,
and -2 + 1 mm. Other materials used were
tracer particles of the same size, viz. coloured
magnetic ore and coloured coke for investigations of ore and coke segregation, respectively.
Hopper charging was standardised
and
involved filling a container with the required
mixture by hand placing small amounts of
mixed components
into it. A previously
constructed
and centred funnel fixture was
then placed in fixed V-notches in the upper
ring and the contents then emptied as a
continuous
stream into the funnel, and
through it into the hopper. The funnel used
was an ordinary 10 cm plastic funnel with a
5 cm long tapered spout having a 2 cm dia.
exit opening.
Discharge rates from the hopper were
measured by continuously
weighing the discharge on an electronic balance provided with
a print-out facility. For each slide gate setting, the discharge rate was constant from the
beginning to just before the end of the discharge. This constancy of discharge rate is
a feature of P-W hopper design and is, of
course, a necessary condition
for actual
blast furnace charging control.
In-bin segregation measurements were carried out by filling the charged hopper with

water and freezing the contents.

After
removal, the frozen block was cut in half and
samples taken by melting off approximately
100 ml volume elements from different positions. Dried samples were then subjected
to a standard laboratory screen analysis. Only
centre, mid-radius and wall positions were
sampled to accord with customary blast furnace practice and also sharpen real differences
in the measured segregation.
Investigations
involving the discharge of
material from the hopper, such as hopper
flow pattern and size segregation in the discharge stream, were conducted using either
continuous or the stop-start discharge technique, whichever was convenient.
The use
of either of these techniques was valid since
preliminary investigations with many repeat
runs has shown that both techniques gave
results which were indistinguishable
from
each other within the normal random errors
of measurement of *5% [12].
Investigations involving tracers for overall
flow pattern measurements were conducted
by injecting a quantity of tracer (400 ml)
into the feed stream at selected times. Experimentally, this was performed by momentarily
interrupting the feed flow, pouring the tracer
into the funnel and restarting the feed flow.
For local flow pattern measurements
the
hopper was filled to the required height, the
tracer particles distributed by hand at the
selected locations, and the hopper topped up
to the next required height and so on.
Profile measurements were made with the
stop-start
technique using the plumb-bob
method, i.e. placing a steel cross on top of
the hopper and gently lowering the bob to
the surface of the material. The height from
the datum line was then read off the calibrated tape suspending the bob.
Mixtures investigated consisted of mixtures
of equal weight of each size component and
those in which each size component
was
either 14, 30, or 56 wt.%. Mixtures of
different materials, i.e. of coke and ore, were
not investigated.

IN-BIN SEGREGATION

Results
Figures 3 - 5 show the measured in-bin
segregation for both ore and coke of a mix-

46

I
Wall

Mid

Centre

ORE

COKE

I
Mid

ORE

COKE

IL
Wa I I

Wall

POSITION

Fig. 3. An in-bin segregation of large particles (-8

+6.15 mm).

ture of equal proportions

of the three sizes
used.
The particular results in Figs. 3 - 5 are an
example of one of the most scattered results
obtained and have been included to more
forcefully make the point that it has not
been possible in this study, involving typical
industrial materials, to reproduce segregation
results with a confidence
exceeding about
85%. This is, therefore, quite different from
our own studies [4] and those of others
involving binary systems and glass ballotini
[ 5, 61, but is in line with industrial results,
and those performed in the laboratory
with
granular materials [ 71 .
It is believed that the scatter of results
with granular materials of irregular shape
and size is due to a complex interplay of a
degree of unmixing of the various size particles in the falling stream resulting from
collisions and other frictional effects, actual
orientation
of the particles on contacting
the free surface, angle of repose effects on
sliding and tumbling down the free surface,
and the occurrence
of course changes by

Mid

Mid

Centre

POSITION

Fig. 4. An in-bin segregation of small particles (-2

+l mm).

5
0
J

10

ORE

COKE

0=
Wall

Mid

centre

Mid

Wall

POSITION

Fig. 5. An in-bin segregation of medium-size particles

(-5 +4 mm).

particles on the free surface, observed in this

laboratory with high-speed film, and whose
magnitude, place and time of occurrence was
most haphazard and more so with distance

47

down the heap. Nevertheless,

laboratory
investigations
with granular materials are
still considered most informative and useful
if the normal scatter of the results is kept
in mind in the analysis of one or the other
segregation effect or phenomenon.
Viewing Figs. 3 - 5 as a set shows that coke
exhibits lesser segregation than the ore and
that the wall results are less dispersed on the
chute side than those on the opposite side.
The lesser segregation of coke (p = 800
kg/m3) compared with ore (p = 3500 kg/m3)
is in line with the expected kinetic energy
effects [6] and the full-size P-W hopper
results of Kajiwara et al. [3] referred to
earlier.
The difference in the spread and off-set
of the wall data is almost certainly caused
by the asymmetry of the P-W hopper design
and the difference
in the slope lengths
between the pouring point and the two wall
positions. It may be of interest to note that
segregation in ballotini systems has been
observed to be proportional
to the slope
length [ 61, in accordance
with avalanche
displacements.
However, as no avalanche
effects were observed in the present study,
the observed and constant difference
in
spread at the two wall positions cannot be
due to this cause but most probably reflects
the haphazard tumbling with distance referred
to earlier.
The other notable feature of the results
was a lack of segregation of the medium-size
particles along the hopper diameter, compared with the other two sizes. This result
was not only reproducible
in both materials
but was also unaffected by the feed composition and the percentage range used in this
investigation, i.e. 14 - 56%.
This feature has not been previously
reported, as most work on segregation has
been conducted with binary mixtures, and
when mixtures of more than two materials
were used, the material densities were then
different. However, Drahun and Bridgwater
[6] have recently shown that, even in a
binary system, segregation along the slope
can be made uniform by combining suitable
density and size ratio of the two components.
In the present investigation
the most
obvious and straightforward
reason for the
results, as exemplified in Fig. 5, is, of course,

one of the material balance. In other words,

if in any segregating ternary system of different size particles the distribution
of one
size particles is concave whilst the other
is convex, then the distribution of the third
size may follow an in-between course. The
mechanism, however, is most probably a
combined Williams effect [8] of a strong
downward percolation of small particles and
a simultaneous upward movement of large
particles, resulting in regions that are more
or less stratified by particle size.
Effect

of height

The effect of free-fall height on segregation of large and small particles was
systematic only in the central region of the
pile and then only for the ore particles. This
is explained by the well-documented
reason
of the high momentum
of the heavier ore
particles [6]. This also explains why the
lowest concentration
of the large-size ore was
seldom in the centre. On the other hand, the
result that the highest concentration
of the
small-size ore was also seldom in the centre
is explained
by the momentum-size
principle in causing these particles to bounce
off and away from the centre [6]. In the
case of coke, however, the distribution
of
both large and small particles never exhibited such a behaviour. In other words, the
concentration
of the large coke increased
from the centre to the wall, whilst the small
coke behaved in the opposite way. This
behaviour of the coke is a direct result of the
low momentum
preventing the small particles from bouncing off the free surface
and the large particles from burrowing
into the centre of the heap.
Analysis of results

Previous attempts at quantifying segregation on heaping in terms of sliding [ 91,

screening [ 51, constant velocity (acceleration) assumption [lo] and first-order type
laws [ 111 have been unable to predict the
diverse distribution
of particle segregation
observed in real situations and to account
for the catenary-type
distribution
often
found in heap pouring of actual materials
in practice.
A recent study by Drahun and Bridgwater
[6] using binary mixtures of glass ballotini
indicates that even under ideal conditions in

48

a rectangular bed it is impossible to analytically model the key features of free-surface

segregation.
As a result of their investigations, these
authors concluded that free-surface segregation occurs by avalanching, inter-particle
percolation,
and particle migration. The
variables found to influence segregation were
size difference and to some extent also
particle shape, density and concentration,
free-fall height and slight differences of the
inlet structure of the feed, e.g. slight segregation in a feed device or feed hopper. Experiments of a preliminary nature in a box with
divergent walls simulating the behaviour on
a conical heap were also performed.
The
general effects observed in the rectangular
box were reported to be similar but avalanching frequency was reduced and the principal
particles instead were convected down the
surface by shimmering as defined in Ref.

25

50
PER

CENT

75

100

in FEED

Fig. 6. In-bin segregation of the large-size ore as a

function of its feed content.

[61.
Noting that high-speed movies of heap
formation in the present investigation have
not detected avalanching or shimmering as
described by Drahun and Bridgwater [6]
but only a tumbling motion suggests that
principal segregation mechanisms may not
be the same in different systems. Therefore,
the operative key features of segregation may
also be expected to be different.
An example of how easy it may be to be
wrong in extrapolating
from the results
obtained on one system to another apparently identical system has been recently
provided by Bagster [7] in an investigation
of in-bin segregation of binary sand mixtures.
These results show that the segregation
pattern of coarse sand in a mixture with
fine sand can be actually reversed when the
fine sand possesses a small amount of
cohesion, something that in practice would
normally be undetected.
The foregoing therefore
shows that, if
confidence is to be placed in any extrapolation, each system has to be analysed
separately and, for utility, in a manner most
useful for the particular application. In the
present investigation this means analysing
the variation of in-bin segregation with feed
composition.
Figures 6 - 8 give the results of the inbin segregation of the three sizes of the ore
used as a function of feed composition.
The

SMALL

ORE

(-

2.0

t1.0

,Q

mm )

!I
I

,I

,,;;/
,j

II

<,/

,/

f7

,,,,,,l

4
/
,?
8
@

Wall

Mid-radius

centre

J
0

25

50
PER

CENT

75

100

in FEED

Fig. 7. In-bin segregation of the small-size ore as a

function of its feed content.

results for the coke followed a similar pattern

and for the sake of brevity are therefore
omitted.
By inspection, Figs. 6 and 7 show how the
large- and the small-size particles segregate
positively and negatively in the different positions in the hopper. On the other hand, as
indicated by Fig. 8, the medium-size particles,
for all practical purposes considered, do not
segregate to any extent.
The wall results in Figs. 6 - 8 span all the
wall positions investigated, but as Figs. 3 - 5

49

TABLE
MEDIUM

ORE

(-5.0

+4,0mm

In-bin segregation coefficients

Material

25
PER

50
CENT

Large ore
Medium ore
Small ore
Large coke
Medium coke
Small coke

75

Centre

Mid-radius

Wall

0.96
1.0
1.04
0.92
1.0
1.04

0.88
1.0
1.07
0.98
1.0
0.99

1.08
1.0
0.86
1.06
1.0
0.94

in FEED

Fig. 8. In-bin segregation of the medium-size ore as

a function of its feed content.

show, the wall positions opposite the chute

side feature a wider scatter or segregation
than the chute side wall positions. The decision to treat the two sets of results as one was
made on the basis that (1) the difference in
scatter of the results in other than the case
shown in Figs. 3 - 5 did not justify separate
treatment, and (2) the results of Kajiwara
et al. [ 31 in a full-size P-W hopper show no
difference in the mean particle size between
the wall positions in the upper and lower
levels in the hopper.
The results in Figs. 6 and 7 show that inbin segregation is not linear with feed concentration. This is expected from elementary
considerations, since the concentrations of
any component in a mixture must originate
at zero and terminate at 100%.
The effect of feed concentration on in-bin
segregation was correlated in this study by
a simple power function, viz.
c = Cok

Position

(1)

where C and C,, are the weight per cent of

material of a stated size in the hopper and
feed, respectively, and 12is a segregation coefficient for this material at different locations
in the hopper.
The fit of the experimental data to the
function of eqn. (1) was not as good (r =
0.71 - 0.92), particularly at high concentrations, as that of other correlations and
polynomial expressions tried. Nevertheless,
at the present stage of segregation research
it was judged that clarity in highlighting the
effect of feed concentration on in-bin segregation was a more important attribute of a

correlation than an improved correlation

coefficient at the expense of clarity.
The numerical values of the segregation
coefficient k for the in-bin segregation results
of this study are given in the Table.
The Table clearly shows a range of values
of k, i.e. k < 1.0 > k. The meaning of the k
values are: k = 1.0 - nil segregation, i.e. C =
C,,; k < 1.0 - negative segregation, i.e. per
cent in the particular position in the hopper
is less than per cent in the feed; k > 1.0 positive segregation, i.e. C > CO.
Comparing the values of k for ore and coke
in the Table shows that coke does not segregate as strongly as the ore does and, also, that
it does not exhibit the catenary-type segregation of the ore. These results are therefore in
line with those in Figs. 3 - 5 and the accompanying reasoning.

FLOW PATTERNS

Continuous and batch operation

To understand the flow behaviour in the
hopper on emptying, it was decided to conduct a comparative tracer experiment by
operating the hopper as a continuous flow
vessel. Experiments were carried out with
both ore and coke as the bulk materials.
Analyses of the RTD results in the usual
way [ 131 showed that in a continuous flow
operation, the hopper is closely represented
by a compartment model [13], consisting
of a plug flow region VP in series with two
parallel mixed flow regions Vm, and Vm, , and
that a dead volume V, was also present. The
parameters of the model, which were
common to both ore and coke were:

v, = 0.27; vm, = 0.12; vm, = 0.37;

V, = 0.24; urn, = 0.91 and umZ= 0.09.
where h, and umZare the proportions of the
flow in the two parallel mixed flow regions.
Repeating these experiments
with the
hopper operated in its normal mode, viz.
as a batch vessel, revealed similar, but not
exactly, tracer response results. Both results
are shown in Fig. 9 and the two sets of
points for each curve represent results obtained with continuous and a stop-start sampling
of the discharge.

BATCH

CONTINUOUS

PROCESS
PROCESS

t
Fig. 10. Free surface profiles in the discharging hopper.

Free-surface

0.2

0.4

0.6
FRACTION

0.8

10

12

1.4

DISCHARGED

Fig. 9. Tracer response curves for the hopper.

Figure 9 clearly shows that the plug flow

volume, given on the abscissae by the sudden
increase of the tracer concentration,
is independent of the operating mode of the hopper,
i.e. whether as a continuous
flow vessel or
as a batch vessel. However, after reaching the
peak of the curve in Fig. 9, the two sets of
data are not identical but similar; also, the
increased lateral spread of the batch curve
indicates an increase in the flow dispersion
or the intermixing in the batch operation.
Although by design, the P-W hopper
empties its contents at a constant discharge
rate, and hence is a steady state vessel in
this respect, it is not a constant volume vessel.
Nevertheless, the proportion
of the hopper
volume that is a plug flow region is the same
irrespective of the mode of operation (Fig.
9), so the other differences must in some
way be attributable to differences in the freesurface flow.

profiles

The measured free-surface profiles after

essentially equal amounts of material were
discharged is shown in Fig. 10. It should
also be noted that there was no detectable
difference
in the contours between the
coke and the ore materials investigated.
Figure 10 shows that the discharge line
is off-centre,
and there is a scaffold of
materials that discharges last. The profiles
also show that initial portions discharged
cause a loosening
of the remaining
material in the hopper. Dilation effects are
expected from theory [14] as is also the
discharge line, but its actual course in the
P-W hopper, as indicated by the profiles in
Fig. 10, is obviously a property of the particular geometry of the hopper. The profiles
in Fig. 10 also indicate that the flow boundaries in the hopper are complex, with the
flow in the chute side region of the hopper
behaving differently to that in the other half
of the hopper.
Free-surface

profiles

To check what effect the above complex

flow lines have on material intermixing
prior to discharge, a tracer mixture consisting of equal parts of three sizes of the previously described tracer particles of the same
size as the bulk material was prepared. The
mixture was spread in a uniform 2 cm high
flat layer over the surface of the bulk material

51

at a given height in the hopper, which was

then filled with the bulk material to the
normal filling height, before the contents
were discharged and continuously
sampled.

10

08

-7
TRACER

,..
; .

SIZE

6
P\

06

Large

Medium

Small

Y
f5

04

A
F
/I

I-

Y
;

-Id

I
d
0.2

0.4

o-5

FRACTION

I
0.8

1
1.0

DISCHARGED

Fig. 11. Tracer response curves: 70% hopper height.

An example of the tracer response results

obtained at the height of 0.7 that of the
material heap in the hopper is shown in Fig.
11. For other heights the results were similar
but the appearance of the second peak was
more diffuse.
Figure 11 shows a bi-modal response with
a sharp initial peak followed by a more dispersed second peak. The results also show
some tracer separation by size and this unmixing of the originally uniformly
mixed
tracer indicates
that some transitory
rearrangement
of the in-bin segregation of the
bulk material may be expected during discharge.
The result of plotting the tracer heights
in the hopper and the appearance of the
peaks in the discharge, is shown in Fig. 12.
By inspection of Fig. 12, the relationship
for both peaks is essentially linear but
opposite in slope. The presence of two peaks
in the discharge stream indicates that the
material flow takes place from two regions
in succession. The opposite slope for the
two peaks (Fig. 12) indicates that some
material in the lower part of the hopper
appears early in the discharge cycle, whilst
other material appears late, and in the case

!I
0

40

0.2

0.2

0.4
FRACTION

0.6

0.8

IO

DISCHARGED

Fig. 12. Correlation between appearance of peaks in

discharge and tracer height in the hopper.

of the lowest height investigated, very much

later. This result is therefore an additional
proof of the existence of a scaffold as shown
in Fig. 10.
It should also be noted that for the uppermost height the second peak was extremely
skewed and not very distinct, whilst the first
peak was still sharp and pronounced.
The differences between the form of the peaks
suggest two different types of flow region.
An indication of what these two types might
be may be obtained by comparing how variances
are related to height. Calculations using mean
tracer concentration
show that the experimental data of the present study best fit the
relationships
0,2 = (8 x 10_3)H

(2)

and
uz2 = (0.11)H2

(3)

where o,2 and u22 are the variances of the two

single-peak responses in terms of fraction of
material discharged corresponding
to Fig. 11
and H is the fractional height corresponding
to Fig. 12.
The linear relationship of eqn. (2) corresponds exactly to the behaviour that would be
predicted by the dispersed plug flow model
[ 131. This result, together with that in Fig.
9, therefore strongly suggests that initial discharge is from a plug-type flow region in the
hopper, or in other words, the core flow region.

52

On the other hand, the parabolic relationship of eqn. (3) is neither a dispersed plug
flow nor a mixed flow result. Nevertheless,
the relationship (eqn. (3)) clearly indicates
enhanced mixing with height. The most
obvious explanation
is that as the hopper is
emptied the material moving from the sides
collides and mixes as it converges towards
the central pipe.
The foregoing results therefore suggest that
the batch model of the hopper may not be
too different
from its continuous
flow
counterpart.
This is an interesting observation but its mathematical treatment is omitted pending further fundamental research and
a firm conclusion of what practical use can
be made of such an analysis in segregation
work.
Local flow survey
The local flow survey, from which the
succession of flow regions in the hopper during discharge is obtained, was carried out in
the usual way. This involved tracer introduction and measurement
as described by
Fukutake et al. [ 21 and Standish and Jones
[ 71, and the technique noted earlier.

El

0 25
FRACTION

El

.0.5

0.75

1.0

DISCHARGED

Fig. 14. Tracer discharge pattern associated with

discharge sequence in Fig. 13.

Fig. 14 as continuous curves to permit ready

identification
of the corresponding
results in
Figs. 13 and 14 and to permit a ready assessment of the extent of dispersion in each region.
The flow pattern in Fig. 13 supports the
conclusion made earlier that the flow of the
material is initially from the core region and
then the wall region and that the final discharge is the scaffold material (region 7 in
Fig. 13). Moreover, Fig. 13 also gives the
useful result of identifying when each in-bin
region discharges.
It is also of interest to note that the results
in Fig. 13 are in good agreement with the
retention time distribution of tracer particles
in the P-W hopper reported by Fukutake
et al. [2]. However, as these authors did not
give companion tracer records, such as given
in this investigation by Fig. 14, it is not possible to make any detailed comparison
between the two sets of data.

Fig. 13. Discharge sequence of materials from the

hopper.

DISCHARGE SEGREGATION

The results of the tracer survey are shown

in Fig. 13. The companion tracer responses
used in the preparation of Fig. 13, and labelled accordingly, are given in Fig. 14. For convenience the original histograms are given in

Results
All results of segregation in the discharge
stream of each of the three size particles
investigated are shown in Figs. 15 - 17 by
plotting normalised concentration,
i.e. the

53
2

0
I=
a
u

20
MEDIUM

PARTICLES

(-5.0

+4.Omm

1.5

E
g 1.0
0

ORE

COKE

0 11% n 14 %
0 30 l 30 ,I
v 331,.. . 33s
A

0.2

0.4

56

56 I,

0.6
DISCHARGED

FRACTION

1.0

0.8

Fig. 15. Discharge segregation of medium-size particles.

E

20
LARGE

PARTICLES

ORE
-I
2
I
2
2

14%
30

335

0A

56

0.4

0.2

0.6

FRACTION

COKE

Ir%
30

l
.

33v
56

0.8

1.0

DISCHARGED

Fig. 16. Discharge segregation of large-size particles.

SMALL

PARTICLES

(-2

.O il.0

mm)
I

ORE
3

COKE

14 7;

14 %

0 0

30

331.

33,.

56

56

0.2

0.4
FRACTION

0.6

0.8

S
I

1.0

DISCHARGED

Fig. 17. Discharge segregation of small-size particles.

ratio of measured concentration to that in

the original feed, as a function of the fraction
of material discharged from the hopper.
By inspection, apart from showing a general scatter of the experimental data, Figs. 15 17 also show some definite patterns and
results. One unexpected result, however, is
that if, for reasons explained later, the 14%
feed data are excluded from Figs. 15 - 17,
then the scatter of the results is essentially
of the same magnitude throughout the discharge sequence. However, from the in-bin

segregation results which were invariably

more scattered at the wall positions (e.g.
Figs. 3 - 5), a larger scatter of the corresponding discharge results, viz. those in the
second half of discharge, was expected. The
reason why this did not occur may be understood from the result of tracer variance in
eqn. (3) indicating that material appearing
later in the discharge undergoes enhanced
mixing - which in the present case obviously
resulted in blending of the materials.
The most straightforward result in Figs.
15 - 17 is that of a lack of any notable
segregation of the medium-size particles
(Fig. 15). This is explained by the fact that
the in-bin concentration of this material is
essentially uniform throughout the hopper
and equal to the feed concentration (Fig.
8), and that this condition is not altered
appreciably during discharge (Fig. 11). Additionally, and unlike the case of the other
two sizes, there is no clear distinction
between the behaviour of the ore and the
coke, nor any distinct effect of the feed
composition.
In the case of large and small particles
(Figs. 16 and 17) there is an unmistakable
effect on discharge segregation of the low
feed concentration of 14%. In both cases
the results for this feed concentration are at
the extremities amongst the other data, but
still following the general sinusoidal pattern.
For large particles, both the 14% ore and
the 14% coke behaved identically, viz. in the
first half of the discharge both are displaced
below the other data and in the second half
of the discharge both are displaced above the
other data.
In the case of small particles, the 14% ore
results are initially displaced above the other
data and then below, but not as clearly,
whereas the 14% coke results follow the
opposite course and, by inspection of Fig.
17, are clearly displaced above the other data
and exceptionally so at the end of the discharge.
This apparently unusual and reproducible
segregation behaviour in the discharge stream
at the low feed concentration used (14%)
is most probably explained by a number of
secondary segregation effects occurring during
discharge, which at high concentrations would
be masked but at low concentrations become
more prominent because fewer numbers of

54

particles are involved and, therefore,

any
small localised differences are magnified.
For example, any size separation effects
such as those in Fig. 11, or effects such
as enhanced or retarded particle retention
or motion due to differences in the inverse
angle of repose from that of the piling angle
of repose, consequent upon in-bin segregation, would all appear magnified for particles
present in small quantities.
The foregoing also explains why the discharge segregation at low feed concentration
follows exactly the same sinusoidal pattern
as at higher concentrations,
but is only
exaggerated. Clearly, if there was a change
of segregating mechanism at low particle
concentrations,
this would have become
noticeable both in the change of the in-bin
segregation pattern and in the change of the
hopper discharge segregation pattern.
The fact that unlike the large ore and coke
particles, which behave identically at low concentrations, small particles of ore and coke at
low concentration
are at opposite extremities
of the other data in Fig. 17. This is a clear
indication that material density influences
the secondary segregation effect of small
particles but not large (or medium-size)
particles. The reasons for this difference
of the density effect are not clear and no
comparison can be made with similar results
in the literature because fundamental studies
of density effects have invariably considered
mixtures of particles of different density.
Comparison with industrial results
Comparison of the general hopper discharge segregation results of this study with
those reported in the literature can be made,
but only in one case in terms of particle size
compositions.
This is because size segregation
for blast furnace applications
is generally
characterised by the mean particle size, which
is most frequently the harmonic mean size.
Comparison of the result of Fukutake et
al. [2] with those reported here (Figs. 16 17) shows an excellent agreement between
the main features of the result. Thus, both
sets of results feature a sinusoidal discharge
segregation pattern with approximately
the
same range and period.
However, the result of Kajiwara et al.
[ 31 do not show this sinusoidal pattern but
only a more or less gradual upward trend for

sinter, and essentially a flat distribution

for
coke. Unfortunately,
their results were given
in terms of a relative particle size and in the
absence of any information
of how these
values were calculated by the authors, it is
not possible to know whether the difference
simply reflects the calculating method or
whether it is real.
Carmichael and Notmans results [l],
obtained for a discharge of 150 t of
sinter from a P-W hopper, were, however,
given in a form that could be compared
directly. For the sake of convenience their
results are reproduced in Fig. 18.

%-10

20

mm

In

0.

0
20
40
00
WEIGHT
DISCHARGED

00
FROM

loo
120
140
HOPPER tonnes

Fig. 18. Discharge segregation results in a full-size

P-W hopper. (After Carmichael and Notman [ 11).

In Fig. 18 the results for -10 mm sinter

also include the -6 mm material and the
horizontal dashed lines represent the weight
per cent of each size fraction in the feed,
sampled prior to filling the hopper.
Comparing the results in Fig. 18 with
those in Figs. 16 and 17 of this study, it is
obvious that there is an excellent agreement
in the case of small-size particles and also fair
agreement for the large-size particles. The
slight uncertainty
in the latter is caused by
an unexpected result for the +25 mm material
(Fig. 18), showing that much of the initial
discharge is completely devoid of this size
fraction. There are two possible explanations

55

for this curious result. First, it is obvious

from Fig. 18 that there is a lack of material
balance, and hence incoming feed composition could not have been constant as suggested by the dashed lines. Therefore, if the
initial portions of the feed in reality contained no +25 mm material, then, as may be
deduced from Fig. 13 of this study, the initial
portion of the discharge stream will also not
contain this material.
Second, as the content of the +25 mm
material in the feed is low, its discharge
segregation would be expected to follow the
behaviour of the low-content
feed particles
in this investigation,
uiz. the 14% large particles in Fig. 16. And, as is evident from Fig.
16, the segregation in the initial period of the
discharge is substantially negative, i.e. concentrations are very low, and not detectable
accurately enough by screen analyses under
industrial conditions.
Finally, using the results of Fig. 18 for the
+25 mm and -10 mm size fractions, and performing material balances, using also feed
composition
given in the original paper, the
discharge segregation
of -25
+lO mm
material can be obtained. The resultant values
for this medium-size material show a relatively flat pattern which compares favourably
with the principle established in this investigation that the medium-size particles of a
mixture discharging from a P-W hopper do
not show any notable segregation.
CONCLUDING

REMARKS

The objective of the present investigation

was to obtain a better understanding
of size
segregation in filling and emptying a hopper
of interest to blast furnace ironmaking practice. This explains the reasons for using a
P-W hopper, with its curious design geometry,
and iron ore and coke particles of three different size fractions and different compositions that also may appear curious but which,
nevertheless,
bracket the widest range of
normal variations observed in practice. The
particular objectives also explain why the
investigation
has been both extensive and
restricted to ore and coke feeds separately
and not to feeds of mixed ore and coke,
simply because this situation does not occur
in practice. Nevertheless,
it can be shown
from first principles that mixed ore and

coke burden in the furnace can give chemical and economic advantages and this idea is
actually now receiving a renewed interest.
However, from first principles of segregation
it can also be shown that any attempt to
achieve this in current practice by filling
the hopper with a uniform mixture of the two
materials would be futile.
The above remarks and, in fact, all of the
results of this investigation,
may also be
applicable to all bulk solid handling or processing industries in general, in which the operations involve bins and hoppers being filled and
emptied.
Previous investigations of size segregation
in bins and hoppers were either of a qualitative nature or the system used was too idealised or restricted to in-bin segregation or
both. Consequently,
what qualitative information exists in the literature can not be used
to solve segregation problems usefully and
with acceptable accuracy in any particular
bin or hopper operation.
Fundamental
study of size segregation
phenomena
is still in its infancy and the
associated experimentation
generally restricted to binary systems of glass ballotini. It is
unfortunate
that most industrial bulk solids
behave differently
to such ideal systems so
it is not possible to tell a priori which of the
idealised results one should use and which
one must not use.
Furthermore,
the aim of most quantitative
studies of segregation in a heap has been to
find a general segregation model that will
predict segregation by size along the slope
of the heap. The results of the present investigation in Figs. 15 - 17 clearly show that a
general model, free of invalid assumptions,
is still in the future. The results of the present
investigation also show how, in the meantime, progress can still be made that is both
useful for immediate needs of industry and
useful for fundamental research in providing
ideas and directions that might be usefully
considered in theoretical development.
Thus, the tracer results of this study showing close similarity between behaviour of
the hopper as a continuous
flow vessel and
as a batch vessel might be a useful direction
to pursue further theoretically.
The study,
which may also be the first study to simultaneously consider the filling and emptying
of a hopper, indicates some secondary segre-

56

gation effects when a heap formed by pouring

material into a hopper is withdrawn from the
hopper. This suggests that the widely held
belief that the pattern of movement when
filling or emptying the container is the same
whatever the particle size [15], may not be
true and this idea may also beusefully
included in theoretical analyses.
The usefulness of the results of the present
study to industry is that it indicates the possibility of quantitative prediction with reasonable accuracy of the discharge segregation
from the known in-bin segregation and from
the known flow pattern of materials in the
hopper. Moreover, as the results of this study
have shown significant agreement with the
results of actual industrial investigations, this
means that the required data can be obtained
from tests on a scale model, which is also a
decisive cost advantage.
Unfortunately,
there is no general theory
of segregation. This, together with Bagsters
results [ 71, which show that small changes
in cohesion can actually produce a reversal
in the segregation pattern, means that it may
not be safe at this stage to use the overall
flow pattern results, such as those in Fig. 9
and eqns. (2) and (3). Instead, industrial
predictions would need to use the local flow
pattern data, such as those in Fig. 13, and the
experimentally
measured in-bin segregation,
such as those in Figs. 6 - 8 or eqn. (1).
Calculations of discharge segregation would
then follow the simple procedure of Standish
and Jones [ 41, viz. superimposing the appropriate in-bin segregation onto the local flow
pattern of the hopper and then letting the
computer discharge the contents mathematically.
It may, of course, be argued that this is
trivial and that no mathematical
model is
involved. The latter is essentially true and
the actual calculating procedure
is trivial
but the result is certainly not trivial.
In blast furnace operation, for example, the
hopper is filled and emptied on a round-theclock basis and changes in feed composition
are frequent, and if not accounted for, the
resultant effect on the blast furnace operation
can be quick and costly.
As it is clearly impossible at present to
predict, with any certainty or accuracy, the
ensuing hopper segregation by any of the
fundamentally
developed
formulae
and

models that exist in the literature, a simple

procedure that gives quantitative
results of
required accuracy is of real practical and economic value.
Naturally, further refinements
and extensions of the results and the methodology
used
in this work will inevitably follow.
Finally, it is hoped that the results presented in this paper will be identified as also
describing the filling and emptying of hoppers
in general and interest therefore broadened
to include all bulk solids handling and processing industries.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The experimental
segregation work on
which the interpretation
was based was carried out by Ali Kilic, and financially supported by Australian Iron and Steel Pty. Ltd.

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1 I. F. Carmichael and C. Notman, Congres Znternational Haut Fourneau, Aries, Fmnce, 2 - 4
June (1980).
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Steel Giho, 14 (1982) 4.
Y. Kajiwara, T. Jimbo, T. Joko, Y. Aminaga and
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