Stainless steel bin activator Bridge Breaker®

Product Overview
The Thayer Scale Bridge Breaker flow aid vibrates only the material contained within a vessel; it does not transmit vibrations to the vessel walls. It ensures reliable discharge of materials that tend to bridge or cake due to compaction or cohesion, restoring consistent material flow from bins, hoppers and chutes. The screens are internally mounted and the vibrating action is transmitted by an externally mounted vibrator through isolated vibration mounts so the bin walls remain largely unaffected.

Key Benefits

• Shakes the material, not the bin — reduces stress and damage to bin or hopper walls.
• Whisper-quiet operation — less audible noise than typical vibrators, knockers or air solutions.
• Adapts to square or circular bins — configurable to fit a wide range of bin, hopper and chute sizes and shapes.
• Simple bolt-to-bin installation — easily installs on existing equipment with minimal modification.
• Lower cost to buy and install — simple, lightweight components reduce upfront cost and installation time.

How It Restores Flow

• Material Stops Flowing: Material may compact and form a bridge above the discharge opening, preventing product from reaching downstream equipment.
• The Bridge Breaker Activates: The Bridge Breaker applies a controlled vibrating action to the hopper area where bridging occurs, agitating the material rather than the bin walls.
• The Material Arch Collapses: The mechanical action breaks the bridge, loosens the material and allows gravity to resume flow toward the outlet.
• Free Flow: Once the bridge is broken, material moves consistently into downstream equipment to maintain steady feed rates and improved batching or process control.

Who Needs The Bridge Breaker

• Material sitting in the hopper while the feeder runs empty
• Operators physically impacting the hopper to restart flow
• Inconsistent feed rates
• Frequent bin or hopper blockages
• Material discharging suddenly after a delay
• Poor batching accuracy due to irregular flow
• Visible dents or damage from manual impact
• Downtime caused by material hang-ups

Common Uses and Materials
The Bridge Breaker is typically used with dry bulk solids prone to compaction, arching, ratholing or inconsistent discharge. Typical materials listed by application include:

• Activated carbon
• Adipic acid
• Aluminum powder
• Ammonium nitrate
• Animal protein
• Biomass
• Calcium carbonate
• Carbon black
• Carbon dust
• Carboxy methyl cellulose
• Cellulose powder
• Cement
• Ceramic mix
• Chalk
• China clay
• Cuprous oxide
• Diatomaceous earth
• Dried bone meal
• Dried onions
• Dry table salt
• Fiberglass
• Fire clay
• Flour
• Foundry sand
• Grain
• Graphite
• Ground alumina
• Ground malt
• Gypsum
• Instant coffee
• Iron oxide
• Iron pyrites
• Lime
• Lime dust
• Malt
• Melamine
• Milk powder
• Oats
• Peanuts
• Pet food
• Plastic powder
• Plastic resin
• Polyethylene flake
• Polypropylene
• Potash
• Potato starch
• Powdered chocolate
• Prills
• Protein powder
• PTFE
• PVC regrind
• Resin
• Rubber
• Rye meal
• Saw dust
• Silica
• Soap powder
• Soda ash
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Sodium silicate
• Spent grain
• Starch
• Sugar
• Sulphur
• Super phosphate
• Tobacco
• Vegetables
• Wet corn fiber
• Whole corn
• Wollastonite
• Wood chips
• Zeolite
• Zinc stearate

Design Details
The Bridge Breaker is constructed from expanded metal or bar screens and is designed to suit individual bin configurations. Screens are available in three types: triangular, rectangular, and diamond to ensure alignment with bin walls and maximize vibration transfer. Screens are mounted internally, parallel to bin walls, and an externally mounted vibrator transmits rapid vibration to the screens via isolated bolts that pass through vibration mounts. These mounts permit the screen to vibrate freely without transmitting motion to the bin walls, reducing weld fatigue and audible noise. Screens are placed at critical points where bridging or arching typically occurs and continuous operation during discharge prevents bridge formation. The vibrating motion is parallel to the bin sides so it does not compact the material. Customizable screen sections adapt to flat or conical surfaces. Screen assemblies can fit areas up to ten square feet depending on material and bin configuration; the number of screens required depends on hopper size and material difficulty.

Case Studies (summary)

• Eliminating bridging in spent grain storage: three Bridge Breaker units removed bridging in a 33-ton storage hopper, restoring consistent free flow without damaging equipment.
• Restoring flow in wood particle board handling: six units interlocked with a screw feeder eliminated bridging of light, fluffy material and enabled synchronized discharge.
• Stabilizing flow in large PVC storage silos: two units with adjustable amplitude achieved continuous uniform flow in a 21 ft diameter × 70 ft high silo.
• Timely discharge of alumina powder: two units installed 180° apart delivered complete discharge within required cycle times while maintaining quiet operation.
• Improving coal flow in coke oven operations: two units in sloped hopper walls enabled on-time, complete discharge of damp coal and reduced manual interventions.
• Boosting throughput in PVC resin processing: a single unit with an extension into the extruder throat doubled material flow and improved dispersion.

Specifications / Technical data

• Model name: Bridge Breaker®
• Screen types: triangular, rectangular, diamond
• Screen material: expanded metal or bar screens
• Mounting: internally mounted screens, externally mounted vibrator
• Vibration isolation: bolts pass through vibration mounts to prevent transmission to bin walls
• Motion direction: vibration parallel to bin walls (does not compact material)
• Installation: bolt-to-bin with minimal modification
• Adaptability: fits square or circular bins, flat or conical surfaces; configurable for any shape/size
• Screen assembly coverage: up to ten square feet per assembly (application dependent)
• Operation: continuous or interlocked operation to prevent bridging
• Acoustic: whisper-quiet compared with typical vibrators/knockers
• Primary use: dry bulk solids prone to compaction, arching, ratholing or inconsistent discharge