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Westover, Tyler Lott

Publications and source records attributed to Westover, Tyler Lott.

Hopper apparatuses for processing a bulk solid, and related systems and methods

A hopper apparatus comprises a movable wall comprising opposing walls movably connected to a support assembly and oriented at acute angles relative to a central vertical axis of the support assembly, and movement control devices configured and positioned to move the opposing walls along the support assembly to control dimensions of a discharge outlet at least partially defined by converging ends of the opposing walls; a liner assembly comprising liner structures at least partially overlying inner surfaces of the opposing walls and configured to remain at least partially stationary relative to the opposing walls during movement of the opposing walls; and pressure sensors between the inner surfaces of opposing walls and portions of the liner structures thereover. A bulk solids processing system and a method of processing a bulk solid are also described.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Particle size and shape distributions of hammer milled pine

Particle size and shape distributions impact particle heating rates and diffusion of volatized gases out of particles during fast pyrolysis conversion, and consequently must be modeled accurately in order for computational pyrolysis models to produce reliable results for bulk solid materials. For this milestone, lodge pole pine chips were ground using a Thomas-Wiley #4 mill using two screen sizes in order to produce two representative materials that are suitable for fast pyrolysis. For the first material, a 6 mm screen was employed in the mill and for the second material, a 3 mm screen was employed in the mill. Both materials were subjected to RoTap sieve analysis, and the distributions of the particle sizes and shapes were determined using digital image analysis. The results of the physical analysis will be fed into computational pyrolysis simulations to create models of materials with realistic particle size and shape distributions. This milestone was met on schedule.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗