DISCRETE AND CONTINUUM MODELLING OF GRANULAR FLOW

This paper analyses three popular methods simulating granular flow at different time and length scales： discrete element method （DEM）, averaging method and viscous, elastic-plastic continuum model. The theoretical models of these methods and their applications to hopper flows are discussed. It is shown that DEM is an effective method to study the fundamentals of granular flow at a particle or microscopic scale. By use of the continuum approach, granular flow can also be described at a continuum or macroscopic scale. Macroscopic quantities such as velocity and stress can be obtained by use of such computational method as FEM. However, this approach depends on the constitutive relationship of materials and ignores the effect of microscopic structure of granular flow. The combined approach of DEM and averaging method can overcome this problem. The approach takes into account the discrete nature of granular materials and does not require any global assumption and thus allows a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of granular flow. However, it is difficult to adapt this approach to process modelling because of the limited number of particles which can be handled with the present computational capacity, and the difficulty in handling non-spherical particles. Further work is needed to develoo an aoorooriate aooroach to overcome these problems.     

Determination of contact parameters for discrete element method simulations of granular systems

Both linear-spring-dashpot （LSD） and non-linear Hertzian-spring-dashpot （HSD） contact models are commonly used for the calculation of contact forces in Discrete Element Method （DEM） simulations of granular systems. Despite the popularity of these models, determination of suitable values for the contact parameters of the simulated particles such as stiffness, damping coefficient, coefficient of restitution, and simulation time step, is not altogether obvious. In this work the relationships between these contact parameters for a model system where a particle impacts on a flat base are examined. Recommendations are made concerning the determination of these contact parameters for use in DEM simulations.     

Assessing mixing characteristics of particle-mixing and granulation devices

The mixing of particulates such as powders is an important process in many industries including pharmaceuticals, plastics, household products （such as detergents） and food processing. The quality of products depends on the degree of mixing of their constituent materials which in turn depends on both geometric design and operating conditions. Unfortunately, due to lack of understanding of the interaction between mixer geometry and the granular material, limited progress has been made in optimizing mixer design. The discrete element method （DEM） is a computational technique that allows particle systems to be simulated and mixing to be predicted. Simulation is an effective way of acquiring information on the performance of different mixers that is difficult and/or expensive to obtain using traditional experimental approaches. Here we demonstrate how DEM can be used to unravel flow dynamics and assess mixing in several different types of devices. These devices used for mixing and/or granulation of particulates, are classified broadly as gravity controlled, bladed and high shear. We also explore the role of particle shape in mixing performance and use DEM to test whether Froude number scaling is suitable for predicting scale performance of rotating mixers.     

Segregation of particulate solids＂ Experiments and DEM simulations

Segregation of granular materials is a complex phenomenon, difficult to measure quantitatively and to predict. Discrete element method （DEM） can be a useful tool to predict segregation effects and to support the industrial design. In this context, a very challenging idea is the characterization of the granular solids to provide the key parameters needed for a successful DEM simulation of segregation processes. Rolling friction, sliding friction and the coefficient of restitution are the critical parameters to be studied. These microscopic simulation parameters are calibrated by comparing the macroscopic behavior of granular matter in standard bulk experiments, which have the advantage of being highly repeatable and reliable. An experimental method is presented to characterize free surface segregation. The effects of different particle properties, particularly, shape and size, on segregation of cohesionless materials were investi- gated. From the experiments, particle size demonstrated a stronger effect on segregation than particle shape. Finally, the corresponding DEM simulations of the segregation experiments were presented. The parameters obtained by calibration were validated by the comparison of the modeled segregation behav- ior with the experimental results. Thus, calibrated DEM simulations are capable of predicting segregation effects.     

Effective simulation of flexible lateral boundaries in two- and three-dimensional DEM simulations

Discrete element method （DEM） models to simulate laboratory element tests play an important role in advancing our understanding of the mechanics of granular material response, including bonded or cemented, particulate materials. Comparisons of the macro-scale response observed in a real physical test and a ＂virtual＂ DEM-simulated test can calibrate or validate DEM models. The detailed, particle scale information provided in the DEM simulation can then be used to develop our understanding of the material behaviour. It is important to accurately model the physical test boundary conditions in these DEM simulations. This paper specifically considers triaxial tests as these tests are commonly used in soil mechanics. In a triaxial test, the test specimen of granular material is enclosed within a flexible latex membrane that allows the material to deform freely during testing, while maintaining a specified stress condition. Triaxial tests can only be realistically simulated in 3D DEM codes, however analogue, 2D, biaxial DEM simulations are also often considered as it is easier to visualize particle interactions in two dimensions. This paper describes algorithms to simulate the lateral boundary conditions imposed by the latex membrane used in physical triaxial tests in both 2D and 3D DEM simulations. The importance of carefully considering the lateral boundary conditions in DEM simulations is illustrated by considering a 2D biaxial test on a specimen of frictional unbonded disks and a 3D triaxial test on a bonded （cemented） specimen of spheres. The comparisons indicate that the lateral boundary conditions have a more significant influence on the local, particle-scale response in comparison with the overall macro-scale observations.     

CFD-DEM simulation of Small-Scale Challenge Problem 1 with EMMS bubble-based structure-dependent drag coefficient

In this study,the energy minimization multi-scale(EMMS)/Bubbling model is coupled with the computational fluid dynamics/discrete element method(CFD-DEM)model via a structure-dependent drag coefficient to simulate the National Energy Technology Laboratory(NETL)small-scale challenge problem using the open-source multiphase flow code MFIX.The numerical predictions are compared against particle velocity measurements obtained from high-speed particle image velocimetry(HSPIV)and differential pressure measurements.The drag-reduction effect of the EMMS bubble-based drag coefficient is observed to significantly improve predictions of the horizontal particle velocity and granular temperature when compared to several other drag coefficients tested;however,the vertical particle velocity and pressure fluctuation characteristic predictions are degraded.The drag-reduction effect is characterized by a reduction in the sizes of slugs or voids,as identified through spectral decomposition of the pressure fluctuations.Overall,this study shows great promise in employing drag coefficients,developed via multi-scale approaches(such as the EMMS paradigm),in CFD-DEM models.     

ROTATIONAL RESISTANCE AND SHEAR-INDUCED ANISOTROPY IN GRANULAR MEDIA

This paper presents a micromechanical study on the behavior of granular materials under confined shear using a three-dimensional Discrete Element Method （DEM）. We consider rotational resistance among spherical particles in the DEM code as an approximate way to account for the effect of particle shape. Under undrained shear, it is found rotational resistance may help to increase the shear strength of a granular system and to enhance its resistance to liquefaction. The evolution of internal structure and anisotropy in granular systems with different initial conditions depict a clear bimodal character which distinguishes two contact subnetworks. In the presence of rotational resistance, a good correlation is found between an analytical stress-force-fabric relation and the DEM results, in which the normal force anisotropy plays a dominant role. The unique properties of critical state and liquefaction state in relation to granular anisotropy are also explored and discussed.     

Modeling fluid–particle interaction in dilute-phase turbulent liquid–particle flow simulation

The present work examines the predictive capability of a two-fluid CFD model that is based on the kinetic theory of granular flow in simulating dilute-phase turbulent liquid–particle pipe flows in which the interstitial fluid effect on the particle fluctuating motion is significant. The impacts of employing different drag correlations and turbulence closure models to describe the fluid–particle interactions (i.e. drag force and long-range interaction) are examined at both the mean and fluctuating velocity l...     

Application of DEM modified with enlarged particle model to simulation of bead motion in a bead mill

We applied the discrete element method （DEM） of simulation modified by an enlarged particle model to simulate bead motion in a large bead mill. The stainless-steel bead mill has inner diameter of 102 mm and mill length of 198 mm. The bead diameter and filling ratio were fixed respectively at 0.5 mm and 85%. The agitator rotational speed was changed from 1863 to 3261 rpm. The bead motion was monitored experimentally using a high-speed video camera through a transparent mill body. For the simulation, enlarged particle sizes were set as 3-6 mm in diameter. With the DEM modified by the enlarged particle model, the motion of enlarged particles in a mill was simulated.The velocity data of the simulated enlarged particles were compared with those obtained in the experiment. The simulated velocity of the enlarged particles depends on the virtual frictional coefficient in the DEM model. The optimized value of the virtual frictional coefficient can be determined by considering the accumulated mean value. Results show that the velocity of the enlarged particles simulated increases with an increase in the optimum virtual frictional coefficient, but the simulated velocity agrees well with that determined experimentally by optimizing the virtual frictional coefficient in the simulation. The computing time in the simulation decreases with increased particle size.     

POWER LAW DISTRIBUTION AND SELF-ORGANIZED CRITICALITY OF DISPERSED PARTICLES

Research on particulate characteristics has been an important frontier in physics and chemistry during the past decades. It has however been mostly focused on granular materials with short-range interactions. In this work, it was found that the power law of particle size distribution applied to the long-range interacting system of floating dust in air, from which we deduced that self-organized criticality might hold for floating dust just as granular materials with short-range interactions. This feature may reveal underlying kinetic mechanisms, important in dispersed particle systems. In industry, power law of size distribution of dispersed particles can be used to investigate the change of dust size, and the power law parameter could be taken as an important index for dust separation.     

Accelerating CFD–DEM simulation of processes with wide particle size distributions

Size-reduction systems have been extensively used in industry for many years. Nevertheless, reliable engineering tools to be used to predict the comminution of particles are scarce. Computational fluid dynamics(CFD)–discrete element model(DEM) numerical simulation may be used to predict such a complex phenomenon and therefore establish a proper design and optimization model for comminution systems.They may also be used to predict attrition in systems where particle attrition is significant. Therefore,empirical comminution functions(which are applicable for any attrition/comminution process), such as:strength distribution, selection, equivalence, breakage, and fatigue, have been integrated into the threedimensional CFD–DEM simulation tool. The main drawback of such a design tool is the long computational time required owing to the large number of particles and the minute time-step required to maintain a steady solution while simulating the flow of particulate materials with very fine particles.The present study developed several methods to accelerate CFD–DEM simulations: reducing the number of operations carried out at the single-particle level, constructing a DEM grid detached from the CFD grid enabling a no binary search, generating a sub-grid within the DEM grid to enable a no binary search for fine particles, and increasing the computational time-step and eliminating the finest particles in the simulation while still tracking their contribution to the process.The total speedup of the simulation process without the elimination of the finest particles was a factor of about 17. The elimination of the finest particles gave additional speedup of a factor of at least 18.Therefore, the simulation of a grinding process can run at least 300 times faster than the conventional method in which a standard no binary search is employed and the smallest particles are tracked.     

An experimental and numerical study of packing,compression, and caking behaviour of detergent powders

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study of the packing, compression, and caking behaviour of spray dried detergent(SDD) powders with a two-fold aim: an experimental process of observation and evaluation of the packing, compression and caking behaviour of SDD powders, and a numerical approach based on discrete element modelling(DEM). The mechanical properties, including the stress–strain response and the corresponding porosity change as a function of consolidation stress in a confined cylinder, the stress–strain response during unconfined shearing and the cake strength as a function of consolidation stress, were evaluated and compared for different SDD powders using an extended uniaxial tester(Edinburgh Powder Tester – EPT). The experiments using EPT showed excellent reproducibility in the measurement of packing, compression and caking behaviour and were therefore very useful for describing the handling characteristics of these powdered products including screening new products and different formulations. It was found that the sample with higher moisture had lower bulk porosity but higher compressibility and cake strength. The porosity, compressibility and cake strength were found to vary across different size fractions of the same sample. The larger sieve-cut samples had higher initial bulk porosity, compressibility and cake strength. It is revealed that moisture plays a significant role in packing, compression, and shearing behaviour of the powder. Three-dimensional DEM modelling using a recently developed elasto-plastic adhesive-frictional contact model showed that the contact model is able to capture the detergent behaviour reasonably well and can be used to model complex processes involving these powders.     

Simulation and calibration of granules using the discrete element method

The discrete element method(DEM), developed by Cundall and Strack(1979) to solve geomechanical problems, is used to simulate the mechanical behavior of granules. According to the DEM, an individual granule can be modeled as a realistic mechanical system consisting of primary particles bonded by interaction forces.Granulometric properties of the model material, zeolite 4A, have been measured to determine their macro properties. To investigate the compression behavior, a compression test was performed using a strength tester on single granules between two pistons. A modeled granule consisting of more than 22,000 primary particles was generated. The micro properties of the modeled granule have been precisely set to allow its macro properties to be equivalent to the macro properties of zeolite 4A granules. To calibrate the mechanical properties, diametrical compression was simulated using two rigid walls stressed at a constant stressing velocity. The force–displacement curve of the modeled granule at compression has been calibrated by the experimental curve of zeolite 4A.     

Variable penalty method for finite element analysis of incompressible flow

A new scheme is applied for increasing the accuracy of the penalty finite element method for incompressible flow by systematically varying from element to element the sign and magnitude of the penalty parameter λ, which enters through ?.v + p/λ = 0, an approximation to the incompressibility constraint. Not only is the error in this approximation reduced beyond that achievable with a constant λ, but also digital truncation error is lowered when it is aggravated by large variations in element size, a critical problem when the discretization must resolve thin boundary layers. The magnitude of the penalty parameter can be chosen smaller than when λ is constant, which also reduces digital truncation error; hence a shorter word-length computer is more likely to succeed. Error estimates of the method are reviewed. Boundary conditions which circumvent the hazards of aphysical pressure modes are catalogued for the finite element basis set chosen here. In order to compare performance, the variable penalty method is pitted against the conventional penalty method with constant λ in several Stokes flow case studies.     

Analysis of superposed fluids by the finite element method: Linear stability and flow development

A Galerkin finite element method is described for studying the stability of two superposed immiscible Newtonian fluids in plane Poiseuille flow. The formulation results in an algebraic eigenvalue problem of the form Aλ² + Bλ + C = 0 which, after transforming to a standard generalized eigenvalue problem, is solved by the QR algorithm. The numerical results are in good agreement with previous asymptotic results. Additional results show that the finite element method is ideally suited for studying linear stability of superposed fluids when parameters characterizing the flow fall outside the range amenable to perturbation methods. The applicability of the finite element method to similar eigenvalue problems is demonstrated by analysing the steady-state spatial development of two superposed fluids in a channel.     

Dynamical analysis and performance evaluation of a biped robot under multi-source random disturbances

During bipedal walking,it is critical to detect and adjust the robot postures by feedback control to maintain its normal state amidst multi-source random disturbances arising from some unavoidable uncertain factors.The radical basis function（RBF）neural network model of a five-link biped robot is established,and two certain disturbances and a randomly uncertain disturbance are then mixed with the optimal torques in the network model to study the performance of the biped robot by several evaluation indices and a specific Poincar′e map.In contrast with the simulations,the response varies as desired under optimal inputting while the output is fluctuating in the situation of disturbance driving.Simulation results from noise inputting also show that the dynamics of the robot is less sensitive to the disturbance of knee joint input of the swing leg than those of the other three joints,the response errors of the biped will be increasing with higher disturbance levels,and especially there are larger output fluctuations in the knee and hip joints of the swing leg.     

Formation of uniform reduced graphene oxide films on modified PET substrates using drop-casting method

In this work,uniform reduced graphene oxide(RGO) films were formed on poly-(ethylene terephthalate)(PET) substrates using a simple drop-casting method.We investigated four types of substrates:unmodified PET,polydopamine-coated PET.carboxyl-group-modified PET,and alkyl-group-modified PET.Upon water evaporation,the surface of the polydopamine-modified PET substrates can interact with the reduced graphene oxide sheets to form flattened and continuous RGO films,which exhibit a sheet resistance of 21.75 kΩ/sq at 82%transmittance.The result indicates that the properties of the surface groups determined whether uniform and flattened RGO films could be formed on the substrates.Hence,we proposed a simple and effective way to produce transparent and conductive films in which the catechol unit exhibits a great effect on the deposition of uniform RGO films on PET substrates.     

Dynamics of a prey-predator system under Poisson white noise excitation

The classical Lotka-Volterra （LV） model is a well-known mathematical model for prey-predator ecosystems. In the present paper, the pulse-type version of stochastic LV model, in which the effect of a random natural environment has been modeled as Poisson white noise, is in- vestigated by using the stochastic averaging method. The averaged generalized It6 stochastic differential equation and Fokkerlanck-Kolmogorov （FPK） equation are derived for prey-predator ecosystem driven by Poisson white noise. Approximate stationary solution for the averaged generalized FPK equation is obtained by using the perturbation method. The effect of prey self-competition parameter e2s on ecosystem behavior is evaluated. The analytical result is confirmed by corresponding Monte Carlo （MC） simulation.     

Boundary control of the generalized Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers equation

This paper considers the boundary control problem of the generalized Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers (GKdVB) equation on the interval [0, 1]. We derive a control law of the form and α is a positive integer, and prove that it guarantees L ²-global exponential stability, H ¹-global asymptotic stability, and H ¹-semiglobal exponential stability. Numerical results supporting the analytical ones for both the controlled and uncontrolled equations are presented using a finite element method.     

Aerodynamic interaction between forewing and hindwing of a hovering dragonfly

The phase change between the forewing and hindwing is a distinct feature that sets dragonfly apart from other insects.In this paper,we investigated the aerodynamic effects of varying forewing-hindwing phase di ff erence with a60 inclined stroke plane during hovering flight.Force measurements on a pair of mechanical wing models showed that in-phase flight enhanced the forewing lift by 17%and the hindwing lift was reduced at most phase differences.The total lift of both wings was also reduced at most phase di ff erences and only increased at a phase range around in-phase.The results may explain the commonly observed behavior of the dragonfly where 0 is employed in acceleration.We further investigated the wing-wing interaction mechanism using the digital particle image velocimetry（PIV）system,and found that the forewing generated a downwash flow which is responsible for the lift reduction on the hindwing.On the other hand,an upwash flow resulted from the leading edge vortex of the hindwing helps to enhance lift on the forewing.The results suggest that the dragonflies alter the phase di ff erences to control timing of the occurrence of flow interactions to achieve certain aerodynamic effects.