Flow Pattern of Peeled and Unpeeled Persian Lilac Fruit in a Hopper

In this research, unpeeled and peeled fruit from the Persian lilac were prepared and the flow properties, mean geometric diameter, sphericity coefficient, bulk density, coefficient of static friction and coefficient of internal static friction were determined. The flow patterns and discharge flow rates from a cubic hopper was investigated. The results indicate that the minimum discharge diameter for peeled fruit was 4.6 cm and for unpeeled was 6.3 cm. A comparison of discharge through a 5.5 cm diameter discharge outlet showed that the flow for the peeled and unpeeled fruits were 586 and 554 cm3/s, respectively. Three flow patterns were distinguished within the hopper: the increasing zone, the decreasing zone and the re-increasing zone. Exponential and two third-degree polynomial models were chosen and presented to predict the instantaneous horizontal and vertical positions and speed of the fruits within the hopper. The discharge rate was modeled using the Beverloo and Gregory models. Both models were well-fitted to the experimental data; however the Beverloo model resulted in a higher accuracy (R2 = 0.97).