A simplified approach to the design of drop shafts

The Italian engineers C. Drioli and M. Viparelli principally pioneered the drop shaft, in the 1940s and 1950s respectively. Various theoretical models have been proposed in the literature since then but none of them has shown a simplified approach and a direct and simple application. The theoretical models are of the iterative type and usually need input parameters derived from experimental laboratory analyses. The aim of this paper is to present a simplified theoretical approach for the design of drop shafts.