Posted on June 24th, 2025 by Carrier Vibrating
Used in conjunction with hoppers, silos, and other bulk storage containers, bin dischargers help empty flakes, grains, granular materials, pellets, and powders efficiently into processing systems or for transport. Bin dischargers are especially useful for granulated or powdered materials that are challenging to handle, process, or transport because of their material properties. Vibrating bin dischargers are often used for even greater efficiency during processing.
What is a Vibrating Bin Discharger & How Does It Work?
Promoting material flow is the primary function of any bin discharger. Though it has no metering capabilities, flowrates from these devices are either variable or fixed. Vibrating bin dischargers increase bulk material flow from storage, ensuring the particles entering the mechanism exit first. This ensures a continuous and regular flow of material, which is essential for efficient material handling.
Vibrations are the most effective way to enhance flow in material processing systems. Vibrating bin dischargers are designed to reduce friction between the material and walls of the bin. Dischargers operating this way use gravity to pull material downwards to ensure proper material flow. Vibrating bin dischargers help resolve common flow challenges like arching, flushing, irregular flows, product segregation, and ratholing.
Challenges Vibrating Bin Dischargers Help Resolve
Itinerant particles often classify themselves in storage, with larger particles gathering around the sides while smaller particles move towards the center of a container, resulting in numerous flow issues. Arching—also referred to as bridging—occurs when material blocks an outlet, often due to lumping or the product’s bulk strength, which can result in stoppages. Flushing often takes place when excessive air fills voids within bulk materials, causing an uncontrollable flow.
These irregular flows can prove difficult when erratic discharges or cyclical variations occur, especially for products requiring consistent flows. Flow issues can also result from product segregation, which may result in lower-quality products. Also called piping, ratholing is another common problem in bulk material handling applications. It occurs when material is overly cohesive and sticks to the sides while the central core empties through an outlet.
Factors affecting how well vibrating bin dischargers resolve these issues include:
- Bin diameter
- Cylinder height of bin discharger
- Flow velocity
- Hopper angle
- Material type and properties
- Maximum angle at which material maintains cohesion
- Moisture content
- Particle size and distribution
- Whether the bin discharger has feeder and, if so, what type
While there are other ways in which to handle these issues, vibrating bin dischargers normally provide the best solution.
Carrier Vibrating Bin Discharger Systems
Carrier Vibrating Equipment Inc. makes vibrating bin discharger systems that include:
- Live-bottom bins: These are fitted with a standard vibrating bin discharger and consist of a cylindric tank that comes already assembled.
- Storage pile dischargers: Engineered for a primarily vertical flow, this machine collects material from a storage pile rather than a bin; the discharger withdraws material in a concentric and uniform pattern that allows it to draw off the top layers on the pile.
- Vibrating bin discharger: Provides a continuous and efficient flow of dry material from storage containers, which can be connected to a feeder to accommodate metering capabilities as well.
- Vibrating live bins: These vibrating bin dischargers can be made in custom sizes, and they come already assembled in various dimensions. The entire unit vibrates rather than just the bin discharger.
To learn more about Carrier’s vibrating and other bin dischargers, contact us today.
