HOPPER DESIGN FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES OF POWDERS
(SOFTWARE REPORT)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS PAGES
1. Introduction 1
2. Interface For Hopper Design (VBA) 2-3
3. Coding For Hopper Design (VBA) 4-8
4. Conclusion 9
INTRODUCTION
In this part, the main objective is still the same which is to obtain the minimum
opening of the hopper diameter, B. However, the method to find the diameter in this section is
by using a software in Microsoft Excel which is Microsoft Visual Basic for Application
(VBA). With the aid of the Figure 1 below, we can obtain the value of semi-included angle,
and also the value of flow factor, ff which is necessary in order to obtain the diameter of the
hopper.
40 2
1.9
1.8
30
1.7
Wall friction, w ( )
1.6
Flow factor, ff
20 1.5
1.4
1.3
10
1.2
1.1
0 1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Semi-included angle, ( )
Figure 1: Design Chart for Conical Outlet Hoppers
There are three powders with three different values of wall friction, w which are
used in this software to determine the hopper diameter. The values of the semi-included angle
and the flow factor can be obtained as long as we have the wall friction value and by using
the chart of Figure 1 above. The semi-included angle is then used to calculate the value of H
() and the minimum opening of the hopper diameter, B can now be calculated by using the
following equations:
H ()=2.0+ ( 60 )
H ( ) crit
Minimum opening of the hopper diameter , B= ( b g )
INTERFACE FOR HOPPER DESIGN (VBA)
After we open the Microsoft Excel, the button entitled Hopper Design is shown as
in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: VBA Button (Form Control)
The interface will appear as shown in Figure 3 below when we click the Hopper
Design button.
Figure 3: Interface for Hopper Design
The values for the wall friction and the density have been fixed for each powder as
the values are already obtained from several journals. The journals are all about the Jenike
shear cell test which is related to the minimum opening of the hopper diameter, B. The Table
1 below shows the properties for each powder.
Type of Powder Bulk Density, b (kg/m3) Wall friction, ( )
Soybeans 740 23.4
Wheat Flour 710 13.2
Mung Beans 880 27.8
Table 1: Properties for Each Powder
CODING FOR HOPPER DESIGN (VBA)
The interface of the Hopper Design contains command buttons and textboxes which
need coding for each of them in order to run the interface automatically. The coding are as
follows.
The Powder Properties
The bulk density and the wall friction for each of the powder is fixed and the commands are
shown below:
Soybeans
Private Sub OptionButton6_Click()
TextBox1.Text = "23.4"
TextBox7.Text = "740"
End Sub
Wheat Flour
Private Sub OptionButton7_Click()
TextBox1.Text = "13.2"
TextBox7.Text = "710"
End Sub
Mung Beans
Private Sub OptionButton8_Click()
TextBox1.Text = "27.8"
TextBox7.Text = "880"
End Sub
Effective Angle of Internal Friction,
By referring to the graph, there are four which the values are 30, 40, 50 and 60. Each of the
has its own commands. The fix values of the wall friction for each powder will give the
values of the semi-included angle and the flow factor through these commands:
= 30
If OptionButton1.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) >= 23.9 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 30.46) / (-0.328)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0089 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.5957
ElseIf OptionButton1.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 23.9 And Val(TextBox1.Text)
>= 18 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 35.7) / (-0.59)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0089 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.5957
ElseIf OptionButton1.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 18 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 38.454) / (-0.6818)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0089 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.5957
End If
= 40
If OptionButton4.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) >= 24 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 35.56) / (-0.5778)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0069 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.2929
ElseIf OptionButton4.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 24 And Val(TextBox1.Text) >=
15.5 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 40.19) / (-0.8095)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0069 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.2929
ElseIf OptionButton4.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 15.5 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 41.141) / (-0.8407)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0069 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.2929
End If
= 50
If OptionButton3.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) >= 22 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 39.919) / (-0.8741)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0067 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.1533
ElseIf OptionButton3.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 22 And Val(TextBox1.Text) >=
15 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 37.104) / (-0.7368)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0067 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.1533
ElseIf OptionButton3.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 15 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 47.499) / (-1.0833)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0067 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.1533
End If
= 60
If OptionButton2.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) >= 22 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 39.919) / (-0.8741)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0064 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.0744
ElseIf OptionButton2.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 22 And Val(TextBox1.Text) >=
13 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 40.45) / (-0.9)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0064 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.0744
ElseIf OptionButton2.Value = True And Val(TextBox1.Text) < 13 Then
TextBox2.Text = (Val(TextBox1.Text) - 45.357) / (-1.0609)
TextBox3.Text = (0.0064 * Val(TextBox2.Text)) + 1.0744
End If
Sigma Critical, crit
This sigma critical value is actually fix for each powder because the wall friction and the
effective angle of internal friction for each powder are also fix. The wall friction and the
effective angle of internal friction will only give one value of flow factor and thus giving only
one value of sigma critical for each powder. The commands are shown below:
Soybeans
If OptionButton6.Value = True And OptionButton1.Value = True Then
TextBox5.Text = "3.13"
ElseIf OptionButton6.Value = True And OptionButton1.Value = False Then
TextBox5.Text = ""
End If
Wheat Flour
If OptionButton7.Value = True And OptionButton4.Value = True Then
TextBox5.Text = "2.86"
ElseIf OptionButton7.Value = True And OptionButton4.Value = False Then
TextBox5.Text = ""
End If
Mung Beans
If OptionButton8.Value = True And OptionButton4.Value = True Then
TextBox5.Text = "3.31"
ElseIf OptionButton8.Value = True And OptionButton4.Value = False Then
TextBox5.Text = ""
End If
Factor Determined By The Slope of The Hopper Wall, H()
The value of the semi-included angle, obtained from the previous commands is then used in
this command in order to calculate the H().
H ( )=2.0+ ( 60 ) - (equation)
TextBox4.Text = 2 + ((Val(TextBox2.Text)) / 60) - (command)
Minimum Opening of The Hopper Diameter, B
All the values from the previous commands are then combined in this command to get the
value of B.
H ( ) crit
Minimum opening of the hopper diameter , B= ( b g ) - (equation)
TextBox6.Text = ((Val(TextBox4.Text)) * (Val(TextBox5.Text)) * 1000) / ((Val(TextBox7.Text))
* 9.81)
- (command)
Decimal Command
All the values for each textbox must in two decimal places to make it easier to be read and
the commands are shown below:
TextBox1.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox1.Text), 2)
TextBox2.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox2.Text), 2)
TextBox3.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox3.Text), 2)
TextBox4.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox4.Text), 2)
TextBox5.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox5.Text), 2)
TextBox6.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox6.Text), 2)
TextBox7.Text = Math.Round(Val(TextBox7.Text), 2)
Clear Command
To clear all the values on the interface, these commands below are used:
TextBox1.Text = ""
TextBox2.Text = ""
TextBox3.Text = ""
TextBox4.Text = ""
TextBox5.Text = ""
TextBox6.Text = ""
TextBox7.Text = ""
OptionButton1.Value = False
OptionButton2.Value = False
OptionButton3.Value = False
OptionButton4.Value = False
OptionButton6.Value = False
OptionButton7.Value = False
OptionButton8.Value = False
CONCLUSION
The uses of this Microsoft Visual Basic for Application (VBA) is to help the user to
calculate and obtain various type of values such as semi-included angle, , flow factor, ff, and
also the minimum opening of the hopper diameter, B. Instead by doing a manual calculation,
this software will reduce the time of the user when designing a hopper.
There are three powders applied in this software which are soybeans, wheat flour
and mung beans. This software has been coded specifically for these three types of powder.
All the data obtained when using this software is then compared to the related journals and
we can conclude that all the values from the software are quite similar with the journals. This
shows that by using this software, it will greatly help the user in designing a hopper without
giving too much errors.
