A theoretical model was developed to predict vibration induced grain consol
idation (vertical settlement) in storage bins. In the theory, grain kernels
were modeled as spheres connected by elastic springs and frictional damper
s. Governing differential equations were then developed for this spring-dam
per system and solved numerically Ir was hypothesized that grain consolidat
ion was resulted from grain kernels being "pushed" into the adjacent layers
by the inertial force during vibration, An experiment was conducted to mea
sure grain consolidation in a small model bin filled with wheat to validate
the predictive model. The bin was subjected to vibration at frequencies of
23, 30, and 48 Hz and amplitudes up to 2.3 mm, The predicted grain consoli
dation compared favorably with the experimental data. It was found that the
maximum consolidation (density) was independent of the vibration frequency
However the higher the frequency, the lower the amplitude at which the max
imum consolidation (density) occurred. Both the vibration amplitude and fre
quency affected the variation of grain consolidation with the grain depth.