(181b) A. Jenike's Influence on the European Particle Technology Community

Prof. Gisle G. Enstad, Tel-Tek, dept. POSTEC, Kjoelnes ring, N-3918 Porsgrunn, Norway

Abstract

Since Jenike and his co-workers developed the famous Jenike method between 1952 and 1962, Salt Lake City has become famous for all people involved in particle technology. The basic phenomena of flow in silos were revealed, and the concepts of mass and funnel flow were introduced and have become part of our everyday vocabulary, like laminar and turbulent flow of fluids. The Jenike method soon proved its viability, and was fast accepted as the only method of designing silos for reliable flow, not only in the US, but also in Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. In Europe a number of laboratories like Hans Rumpf's group in Karlsruhe in Germany, the Warren Spring Laboratory in England, Twente University in the Netherlands to mention a few, started to use the Jenike method already in the sixties, and a lot of research was initiated to improve our understanding of the flow behaviour of powders, and to elaborate on the flow in silos. The European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) started the Working Party on the Mechanics of Particulate Solids (WPMPS) in 1968, with its main task to co-ordinate European research in the new field initiated by Jenike. One outcome was the Standard Shear Testing Technique (SSTT), describing a standardized method of using the Jenike shear tester. Later also a standardized powder, CRM 116 limestone, was chosen by BCR of the European Union, who derived standardized test results by using the SSTT. By these standardized results it is possible for new users of the Jenike tester to check if they are getting correct results. Slowly also the concepts of mass and funnel flow have been introduced to the most used silo standards, like the German DIN-1055, and now the new Eurocode. The Jenike method is more and more being used for designing silos for flow, and it is still the only one available for this purpose. The pioneering work of Jenike gave silo research a new direction, and will continue to influence and inspire further research in this field for many more years to come.