Why Materials Stop Flowing in Silos

Material flow in a silo is governed by an interplay of gravity, friction, and cohesive forces. For material to flow, shear forces must overcome the material shear strength. This strength depends on internal friction angle, cohesive strength, and normal pressure. The Jenike method from the 1960s remains the most widely used for characterizing material flow.

Material stops when resistance forces exceed driving forces. Cohesive strength: Moist materials develop bonds stronger than gravitational force. Wall friction: Too high friction causes material to stick. Time consolidation: Bonds strengthen over time under pressure. Mechanical interlocking: Irregular particles grip each other.

The production line halts, quality problems arise as the FIFO principle is violated, capacity is reduced by 30-70% due to dead volume, and maintenance costs escalate from repeated resolution attempts.

Vibration further compacts material in other zones. Air blasts create channels without removing deposits. Hammering causes structural wear. None of these methods remove compacted material — they merely rearrange it temporarily.

Mechanical silo cleaning actually removes the problematic material. BinWhip technology works with controlled force that breaks up deposits without damaging the structure. The result is a silo at full capacity with designed flow characteristics. Regular maintenance prevents problems from building up.

Blue Power offers free site inspection, professional mechanical cleaning with minimal downtime, recommendations for preventive maintenance, and experience from hundreds of projects.