Granular discharge in eccentric silos regulated by vibrating insert: Chaotic dynamics evolution and unified scaling law

Zichun Yu, Honghai Zhang, Jian Li, Hang Li, Guangyang Hong, Qijun Zheng, Aibing Yu and Shuang Liu

Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 2026, vol. 210, issue P2

Abstract: Anomalous discharge-rate decay under strong excitation remains an unresolved limitation in vibrated eccentric silos, because the underlying flow regime instability and its microscopic origin are still poorly understood. Here, we revisit eccentric silo discharge from a nonlinear dynamical-systems perspective and show that the key challenge is not simply how to accelerate flow, but how to identify and suppress transient instability associated with arching and structural rearrangement. First, using finite element method and discrete element method simulations, we reveal that boundary asymmetry and active multimodal insert excitation can synergistically enhance granular discharge, while strong vertical forcing also drives a critical local compaction threshold that causes the discharge rate to decay. To address this limitation, we propose a multi-angle shear intervention strategy that disrupts force chain arches and restores sustained flow enhancement at high excitation. At the granular scale, the vibrated eccentric flow exhibits robust spatiotemporal chaotic dynamics, which is confirmed by the 0–1 test and the largest Lyapunov exponent. We further propose a transient configurational deviation metric to capture transient arching and quantify flow regime stability. Finally, a modified Froude number framework is suggested to evaluate the optimal achievable discharge within the stable vibration-enhanced regime under the investigated operating conditions. In short, this study contributes a chaos-based mechanistic framework for diagnosing and suppressing instability, as well as optimizing granular discharge systems.

Keywords: Granular flow; Silo discharge system; Chaotic dynamics; Vibrated insert (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chsofr:v:210:y:2026:i:p2:s0960077926008477

DOI: 10.1016/j.chaos.2026.118706

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