ABSTRACT
A small centrifuge was installed in 1973 at the Civil Engineering Department of the Danish Engineering Academy. In 1975 a larger machine was built in the same department. Both centrifuges have been utilised in students’ projects and larger machine has also been used in a number of research projects paid by authorities as well as public and private funds. However, initial tests in the centrifuge showed that the discharge pressure versus time diagram deviated very considerably from that obtained in full scale, and the centrifuge test programme was therefore discontinued. The centrifuge method seemed adequate for determining the necessary size of such models. Centrifuge modelling was used in the design of the bottom part of a silo for crushed oyster shells. Oyster shells are a highly anisotropic medium, for which reason theoretical results could not be used to predict the flow conditions.
