EXPERIMENT 1

Determination of the friction angle between the steel sheet and the
material sample

Samuel Saez Lopez

ERASMUS+
 Samuel Saez Lopez
Erasmus student

INDEX
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 2
Explanation of the devices and the process ..................................................................... 2
Calculations....................................................................................................................... 4
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 6

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 Samuel Saez Lopez
Erasmus student

Introduction
Currently, at the beginning of certain industrial processes or in the transformation of certain
primary substances, materials are used that reach us with a certain granulometry, which ranges
from a few microns to tens of centimiters. All the materials arrive at the industry through trucks
that unload in warehouses or incorporate the material directly to the production line. To ensure
that the flow of material through the hopper is correct, we have to calculate the angle of friction
between the particles and the angle of friction between the material that we dump and the
material of manufacture of the hopper.

In this practice we are going to calculate the friction angle between the steel sheet (supposedly
the construction material of the hopper) and the laboratory sample (corresponding to the
material that we would receive in the industrial process).

In later practices we will calculate the rest of the values necessary to know the characteristics of
the hopper. This angle of friction between two materials can also be applied to the calculation
of structures in the field of civil engineering.

Explanation of the devices and the process

To calculate the friction angle between the sample material and the steel sheet we will use the
Jenike cutting machine. This machine allows to exert a normal force on the soil sample at the
same time as it exerts a horizontal force on it, forcing the material sample to slide on the steel
plate.

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 Samuel Saez Lopez
Erasmus student

To begin the data collection, the steel sheet is placed in the lower part, on which the cylindrical
mold is placed. The sample of material is introduced into the cylindrical mold and distributed
evenly so that there are no gaps.

At this moment, the upper part is placed, that allows

the vertical force to be distributed over the entire
surface of the sample and also on one of the sides
there is a small plate bent 90 degrees where the
hydraulic arm will perform the horizontal force. It’s
important at this time to align the area of the plate
where the hydraulic arm hits with the arm itself.

Next, the support that performs the horizontal force is placed,

this is placed on the tip of the previous plate and in the lower
part of the support we place the weights that exert the
horizontal force. In our case, the structure weighs 4059.3 g and
each weight 4425 g, this allows us to apply a maximum vertical
force of 213.39N.

Then the machine is turned on and data collection begins. The machine exerts a certain
horizontal force on the disc until it detects that it is sliding on the steel plate, at that moment it
notes the force value and records it. So the machine saves the maximum value of force that it
has been able to apply before the sample slides on the steel sheet.

This process is carried out every 0.2 seconds, which is why a large number of values are obtained,
this is why to de the calculations we will do an average of all of them, considering that the first
values must be disregarded since the sample must be stabilize.

The first data collection will be carried out with the 4 weights of 4,425 kg, that is why the first
time we will register the greatest horizontal force. The horizontal force will decrease as we
remove weights, and the last value will be recorded with 1 weight.

The collected data will be saved in an Excel sheet where the calculations will be carried out.

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 Samuel Saez Lopez
Erasmus student

The sample that we have analysed has reached the laboratory in a white plastic bag and is
composed of small gray particles that range from a few microns to about 5 or 6 millimeters.

Calculations
To find out the friction angle between the steel plate and the rock sample, it is necessary to
perform a series of calculations, which will be explained below.

The only data we have is the horizontal force exerted by the machine and the weight in kilograms
that we have placed on it. The first step is to calculate the vertical force exerted by the weights:
𝑚𝑚
𝐹𝐹 (𝑁𝑁) = 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡(𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘) ∗ 𝑔𝑔 � 2 �
𝑠𝑠
𝑚𝑚
𝐹𝐹(𝑁𝑁) = (𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡 (𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘) + 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡 (𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢) ∗ 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑡𝑡(𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘)) ∗ 𝑔𝑔( )
𝑠𝑠²
𝑔𝑔 = 𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎, 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ 9,80665 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠 2
The first vertical force value is 213.39 N [F (N) = (4,0593 (kg) +4 (unit) * 4,425 (kg)) * 9,80665
(m/s²)], the second with three weights is 169.99N. Below you can see all the vertical force values.

The next step is to calculate the vertical stress and shear stress, for
these two calculations we need the contact area between the
sample and the steel plate. The area will be determined by the
diameter of our mold (piece in the photo) and is calculated with the
following formula:

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 Samuel Saez Lopez
Erasmus student

𝐷𝐷 2 𝐷𝐷/100 2
𝐴𝐴(𝑚𝑚2 ) = 𝜋𝜋 ∗ r 2 = 𝜋𝜋 ∗ � � = 𝜋𝜋 ∗ � �
2 2
𝐷𝐷 = 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 (𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐)

9,3 2
𝐴𝐴(𝑚𝑚2 ) = 𝜋𝜋 ∗ � 100 � = 0,006793 𝑚𝑚³
2

When we have the area, we can calculate the normal stress σ and the shear stress τ, their
formulas are:
𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 (𝑁𝑁)
𝜎𝜎 (𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃) =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (𝑚𝑚²)
𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 (𝑛𝑛)
𝜏𝜏 (𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃) =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (𝑚𝑚²)
In order to simplify the calculations and make them clearer, we will work with kPa, that is, the
values obtained previously will be divided by a thousand.

Once we have these values, we represent them in a graph and we observe that they follow a
linear progression, so we proceed to calculate the equation of the line that encompasses the set
of points, this is done through a linear regression. In this way we obtain an equation of the type
y = mx + b, where m is the slope of the line. When using Excel this can be calculated using the
function "PENDIENTE ()" if the program is in Spanish.

From the slope, the friction angle can be calculated with the following expression:

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (°) = Arctan (𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠)

When we do the operation with Excel we have to take into account that the program works with
radians, so we must convert the result to degrees.

This is how it finally gives us a friction angle between the sample and the steel sheet of 24,08
degrees.

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 Samuel Saez Lopez
Erasmus student

Conclusion
After performing the calculations, it has been determined that the friction angle between the
steel sheet and the sample material is 24,08 degrees. That is why if we want the material to flow
through the hopper, the angle of this must be greater than 24 degrees, if this angle is less the
material will stay glued to the hopper wall.

Calculations
Estructure weight Weights g
4059,30 g 4425 g 9,80665m/s²

Diameter Area
9,30 cm 0,006793 m²

Horizontal force Vertical force

N1h 98,64 N 4 weight 213,39 N
N2h 78,76 N 3 weight 169,99 N
N3h 59,39 N 2 weight 126,60 N
N4h 40,45 N 1 weight 83,20 N

Normal stress Shear stress

σ4 31,41 kPa τ4 14,52 kPa
σ3 25,02 kPa τ3 11,60 kPa
σ2 18,64 kPa τ2 8,74 kPa
σ1 12,25 kPa τ1 5,96 kPa

Slope 0,44693 Angle 24,08 °

Regression straight graph y = 2,2372x - 0,9969

35,00 kPa

30,00 kPa

25,00 kPa

20,00 kPa

15,00 kPa

10,00 kPa

5,00 kPa

0,00 kPa
0,00 kPa 2,00 kPa 4,00 kPa 6,00 kPa 8,00 kPa 10,00 kPa12,00 kPa14,00 kPa16,00 kPa