DEM analysis of the effect of electrostatic interaction on particle mixing for carrier-based dry powder inhaler formulations

Particle interactions play a significant role in controlling the performance of dry powder inhalers (DPIs), which mainly arise through van der Waals potentials, electrostatic interactions, and capillary forces. Our aim is to investigate the influence of electrostatic charge on the performance of DPIs as a basis for improving the formulation of the particle ingredients. The mixing process of carrier and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) particles in a vibrating container is investigated using a discrete element method (DEM). The number of API particles attaching to the carrier particle (i.e., contact number) increases with increasing charge and decreases with increasing container size. The contact number decreases with increasing vibrational velocity amplitude and frequency. Moreover, a mechanism governed by the electrostatic force is proposed for the mixing process. This mechanism is different from that previously proposed for the mixing process governed by van der Waals forces, indicating that long-range and short-range adhesive forces can result in different mixing behaviours.     

An analysis of the chaotic motion of particles of different sizes in a gas fluidized bed

The dynamic behavior of individual particles during the mixing/segregation process of particle mixtures in a gas fluidized bed is analyzed. The analysis is based on the results generated from discrete particle simulation, with the focus on the trajectory of and forces acting on individual particles.Typical particles are selected representing three kinds of particle motion:a flotsam particle which is initially at the bottom part of the bed and finally fluidized at the top part of the bed; a jetsam particle which is initially at the top part of the bed and finally stays in the bottom de-fluidized layer of the bed; and a jetsam particle which is intermittently joining the top fluidized and bottom de-fluidized layers. The results show that the motion of a particle is chaotic at macroscopic or global scale, but can be well explained at a microscopic scale in terms of its interaction forces and contact conditions with other particles, particle-fluid interaction force, and local flow structure. They also highlight the need for establishing a suitable method to link the information generated and modeled at different time and length scales.     

水下爆炸焊接和压实

回顾了水下爆炸在军事海战和经济建设方面的应用,并且探索了水下爆炸在工业方面的发展。结合水下冲击波独特的性能,提出了水下爆炸焊接和水下冲击波压实粉末混合物2种加工方法。焊接试样显微组织中典型的波状界面表明水下冲击波对于脆性和薄片材料具有很好的焊接效果。粉末混合物在水下冲击波加载作用下能形成致密体。利用水下冲击波,在纯铜表面制备出了性能优良的弥散强化涂层。涂层内部弥散颗粒分布均匀,高硬度显示了优良的机械性能。     

Application of Lattice-Boltzmann Method for Analysing Detachment of Micron-Sized Particles from Carrier Particles in Turbulent Flows

Numerical calculations based on the Lattice-Boltzmann method were performed for a particle cluster consisting of a large spherical carrier particle covered with hundreds of small spherical drug particles. This cluster, fixed in space within a cubic computational domain, was exposed to turbulent plug airflow with predefined intensity. Such a situation is found in dry powder inhalers where carrier particles blended with fine drug powder are dispersed in a highly turbulent flow with the objective of detaching the drug powder for pulmonary delivery. Turbulence was generated by a digital filtering technique applied to the inflow velocity boundary condition. This technique was first validated by analysing the turbulence intensity at 15 fluid nodes along the stream-wise direction of the computational domain. The size ratio between the drug and carrier particle was 5 μ m/100 μ m, and the coverage degree of the carrier by the small particles was 50%, which is a typical value for carrier particle blending. The range of carrier particle Reynolds numbers considered was between 80 and 200, typical values found in inhaler devices. Exemplarily, at Re = 200 turbulence intensity was varied from 0.3% to 9.0%. The systematic increase of the mean flow (i.e. 80 < Re <200) resulted in varying turbulence intensities from 20 to 9%. These simulations provided the temporal evolution of the fluid dynamic forces on the drug particles in dependence of their angular position on the carrier in order to estimate the possibility of drug particle detachment. For turbulent conditions (i.e. Re = 200 and I = 9.0%) the maximum fluid forces on the drug particles were found to be about 10-times larger than found in laminar flow. The fluctuations in the forces were found to be higher than the flow velocity fluctuations due to the modification of the boundary layer around the cluster and instabilities triggered by the turbulent flow. There are three possibilities for detaching the drug powder, namely, through lift-off and sliding or rolling. Lift-off was found to be of minor importance due to the observed small normal fluid forces even at Re = 200 and I = 9.0%. The probability of sliding and rolling detachment in dependence of the angular position was estimated based on measured adhesion properties, i.e. van der Waals force, adhesion surface energy and friction coefficient. The remarkable rise of detachment probability for both effects due to the action of turbulence is an important finding of this study. In accordance with laminar flow, rolling detachment occurs before sliding, however in turbulent conditions over the entire carrier particle. The present studies improve the understanding of drug particle detachment from carrier particles in an inhaler device. The results will be the basis for developing Lagrangian detachment models that eventually should allow the optimisation of dry powder inhalators through computational fluid dynamics.     

A geometric approach for predicting vertical stationary profiles of weakly inertial advecting-diffusing particles in closed incompressible flows

Mixing of weakly inertial particles in closed flows is often addressed by considering individual particles as passive advecting-diffusing tracers, subjected to an additional settling velocity resulting from body forces (e.g. gravity). We show that the qualitative and quantitative features of the vertical particle distribution (i.e. the horizontal cross-sectional averages of particle concentration) can be predicted from the structure of the flow resulting from the superposition of the stirring field and the settling velocity. The prediction is based upon the observation that the resulting flow can be divided into two nonoverlapping regions, namely trajectories that are confined within the mixing space (recirculation loops), and trajectories that cross the mixing space. The spatial extent of these regions is exploited to define an effective vertical convective velocity entering the one-dimensional lumped model. Model two-dimensional flows possessing different flow patterns are used to illustrate the proposed estimate for effective velocity. A CFD-computed three-dimensional turbulent flow inside a baffled stirred vessel is used as a benchmark test to assess the model performance in typical industrial flows.     

Comparison of roller-spreading and blade-spreading processes in powder-bed additive manufacturing by DEM simulations

The roller-spreading and blade-spreading are main powder spreading methods in powder-bed additive manufacturing. The discrete element method was introduced to simulate nylon powder spreading by both roller and blade spreaders. The two spreading processes were compared from several aspects including particle flow behavior, particle contact forces, forces exerted on spreaders, particle segregation and powder layer density. It is found that powder spreading methods mainly affect the movement trajectory of particles, particle contact forces and forces exerted on spreaders. Complicated dispersion and circulation movement of particles occur inside the powder pile by roller-spreading, while particles have relatively weak dispersion by the blade-spreading. The normal force applied to the roller introduces a compacting effect on the powder pile and creates strong force chains that distribute uniformly in the powder pile. Therefore, the powder bed with higher density can be obtained by roller-spreading in thicker powder layer due to the compacting effect. The blade spreader sustains tangential force mainly, so the blade-spreading process limits its application to thicker powder layer. As the powder layer thickness increases, the roller-spreading is more sensitive to segregation index than that of the blade-spreading. The comprehensive comparison of two spreading processes provides criteria for selecting spreading methods.     

An analysis of the chaotic motion of particles of different sizes in a gas fluidized bed

The dynamic behavior of individual particles during the mixing/segregation process of particle mixtures in a gas fluidized bed is analyzed. The analysis is based on the results generated from discrete particle simulation, with the focus on the trajectory of and forces acting on individual particles. Typical particles are selected representing three kinds of particle motion： a flotsam particle which is initially at the bottom part of the bed and finally fluidized at the top part of the bed; a jetsam particle which is initially at the top part of the bed and finally stays in the bottom de-fluidized layer of the bed; and a jetsam particle which is intermittently joining the top fluidized and bottom de-fluidized layers. The results show that the motion of a particle is chaotic at macroscopic or global scale, but can be well explained at a microscopic scale in terms of its interaction forces and contact conditions with other particles, particle-fluid interaction force, and local flow structure. They also highlight the need for establishing a suitable method to link the information generated and modeled at different time and length scales.     

The effect of dissolved polymers on the rheological properties of coating colours

Coating colours used for the coating of paper and board consist mainly of a mineral pigment, which is very often clay, a synthetic binder such as a styrenebutadiene latex, dispersion agents and water retention aids. The latter are often water soluble polymers. These polymers have a very strong influence on the rheological properties of the coating colours, both on the strain rate dependence of the apparent viscosity and on the viscoelasticity. The effects of two different grades of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and one grade of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), on the rheological properties at room temperature of a clay-based coating colour at pH 8, have been investigated. It is concluded that the high values of the dynamic modulus of the colours are due to interactions between the cellulose derivatives and the solid particles, i.e. mainly the clay particles. For HEC this interaction is associated with adsorption of the polymeric molecules on the clay particles. In the case of CMC, the adsorption is strongly retarded by the presence of the dispersant (a polyacrylate salt). It is suggested that the marked elasticity of the CMC-containing colour in addition to a possible polymer adsorption may be due to charge interactions and/or depletion flocculation. The effect of CMC and HEC on the water-retention properties of the colour is also discussed.     

激光选区熔化增材制造中的粉体热动力学行为

激光选区熔化(SLM)可以直接成形近全致密、性能接近锻件的复杂结构金属零件, 是金属增材制造(3D打印)领域的热点技术之一. SLM成形过程中粉末颗粒的热/动力学行为复杂, 与零件成形缺陷及力学性能紧密相关. 本文介绍了离散单元法(DEM)与计算流体力学(CFD)联合建模在SLM中的创新应用, 结合粉末床原位测试及成形在线监测, 探索SLM粉末铺设和粉末床熔融两个工艺环节的复杂粉体热/动力学行为机制. 研究发现, 粉末铺设过程中: 粉体的黏结效应、壁面效应和渗流效应3种机制相互竞争、共同支配粉末动力学行为并最终决定粉末床铺设质量. 粉末床熔融过程中: 熔池喷发的高温金属蒸汽带动环境保护气体形成内旋涡流, 由此驱动散体粉末形成复杂流固耦合运动, 导致粉末床飞溅与剥蚀现象; 热浮力效应对粉末运动不起主导作用. 文中提出了DEM-CFD双向动态耦合模型, 可以充分考虑离散粉末与熔池蒸发气体之间的热力耦合作用, 为SLM粉体熔融热/动力学行为的仿真模拟提供了一种新途径.      

Nano-Ni粉体对Fe/WC涂层组织和性能的影响

在Fe/WC喷涂材料中添加不同量的Nano-Ni粉体,采用亚音速火焰喷涂技术在Q235基体上制备涂层,利用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、X射线衍射仪等设备进行显微组织、表面形貌观察及物相分析,利用MM-W1磨损试验机和HXD-1000TM型显微硬度仪对涂层的性能进行测试.结果表明:Nano-Ni粉体可以细化涂层组织,提高涂层的致密性,随着Nano-Ni粉体添加量的增大,相应的力学性能均得到提高,在涂层形成过程中Nano-Ni粉体与喷涂材料中的其他成分形成了一些新相,如Fe-Ni固溶体和CeNi3,这些新相为改善涂层组织和提高涂层的力学性能起到积极作用.     

Continuous flow synthesis of plasmonic gold patches and nearly-complete nanoshells on polystyrene core particles

We describe the development of a T-mixer based continuous flow process for the coating of 86–500 nm diameter spherical polystyrene particles with thin gold patches by heterogeneous nucleation and growth. After establishing a suitable flow rate for good mixing and sufficiently uniform product morphology we systematically investigate the main reaction parameters. This reveals a considerable tunability of the patch morphology and, by virtue of the localized surface plasmon resonance of gold, the optical properties of the product dispersions. In order to further widen the range of nanostructures accessible by our process, a second T-mixer was added. This introduced new gold precursor, leading to further growth of the patches that were formed after the first mixer. By this approach, nearly-complete gold nanoshells could be produced in high yield on both small and large core particles, without the unwanted production of free-standing gold nanoparticles. Due to the pronounced optical properties of nearly-complete gold nanoshells on small core particles, we could estimate from electrodynamic simulations the equivalent shell thickness to be as low as 8.6 nm. This is significantly thinner than can be routinely achieved using the standard seeded growth approach to synthesise gold nanoshells. Our results are therefore highly promising for the gram-scale synthesis of plasmon resonant nanostructures with designed optical properties.     

Coating of finely dispersed particles by two-fluid nozzle

Particle coatings are used extensively to generate dispersed solids with well-defined properties, e.g., to protect active ingredients, with most coating processes using core particles of a diameter larger than 200 μm. This work contributes to the development of a coating process for fine dispersed particles (diameter less than 50 μm) by combining two particle-formulation processes, namely, coating and spray drying. The feasibility of the operation is based on and demonstrated by the innovative application of a two-fluid nozzle. Experiments were conducted by using glass particles as core particles and sodium benzoate as the coating agent. The coating of finely dispersed particles is achieved by the spraying of particles and coating solution as a homogeneous suspension. The aim is to create droplets with only one contained particle at the nozzle outlet. After evaporation of the water in the droplet, a thin solid film is built on the particle surface. The suspension viscosity was measured and compared with empirical equations from the literature. The liquid-film thickness on the particle surface was calculated to predict the building of a uniform coating layer or agglomerates. In this study, the feasibility of pneumatic transport through the nozzle and an investigation of the process were illustrated. The agglomeration fraction and degree of coating of the particle surface were analyzed optically by scanning electron microscopy. In this way, the influence of different processes and suspension parameters on the product quality were determined.     

Dual characters of interaction between particles and fluid

The unique characteristics of gas-solids two-phase flow and fluidization in terms of the flow structures and the apparent behavior of particles and fluid-particle interactions are closely linked to physical properties of the particles, operating conditions and bed configurations. Fluidized beds behave quite differently when solid properties, gas velocities or vessel geometries are varied. An understanding of hydrodynamic changes and how they, in turn, influence the transfer and reaction characteristics of chemical and thermal operations by variations in gas-solid contact, residence time, solid circulation and mixing and gas distribution is very important for the proper design and scale-up of fluidized bed reactors. In this paper, rather than attempting a comprehensive survey, we concentrate on examining some important positive and negative impacts of particle sizes, bubbles, clusters and column walls on the physical and chemical aspects of chemical reactor performance from the engineering application point of view with the aim of forming an adequate concept for guiding the design of multiphase fluidized bed chemical reactors.One unique phenomenon associated with particle size is that fluidized bed behavior does not always vary monotonically with changing the average particle size. Different behaviors of particles with difference sizes can be well understood by analyzing the relationship between particle size and various forces. For both fine and coarse particles, too narrow a distribution is generally not favorable for smooth fluidization. A too wide size distribution, on the other hand, may lead to particle segregation and high particle elutriation. Good fluidization performance can be established with a proper size distribution in which inter-particle cohesive forces are reduced by the lubricating effect of fine particles on coarse particles for Type A, B and D particles or by the spacing effect of coarse particles or aggregates for Type C powders.Much emphasis has been paid to the negative impacts of bubbles, such as gas bypassing through bubbles, poor bubble-to-dense phase heat & mass transfer, bubble-induced large pressure fluctuations, process instabilities, catalyst attrition and equipment erosion, and high entrainment of particles induced by erupting bubbles at the bed surface. However, it should be noted that bubble motion and gas circulation through bubbles, together with the motion of particles in bubble wakes and clouds, contribute to good gas and solids mixing. The formation of clusters can be attributed to the movement of trailing particles into the low-pressure wake region of leading particles or clusters. On one hand, the existence of down-flowing clusters induces strong solid back-mixing and non-uniform radial distributions of particle velocities and holdups, which is undesirable for chemical reactions. On the other hand, the formation of clusters creates high solids holdups in the riser by inducing internal solids circulations, which are usually beneficial for increasing concentrations of solid catalysts or solid reactants.Wall effects have widely been blamed for complicating the scale-up and design of fluidized-bed reactors. The decrease in wall friction with increasing the column diameter can significantly change the flow patterns and other important characteristics even under identical operating conditions with the same gas and particles. However, internals, which can be considered as a special wall, have been used to improve the fluidized bed reactor performance.Generally, desirable and undesirable dual characteristics of interaction between particles and fluid are one of the important natures of multiphase flow. It is shown that there exists a critical balance between those positive and negative impacts. Good fluidization quality can always be achieved with a proper choice of right combinations of particle size and size distribution, bubble size and wall design to alleviate the negative impacts.     

等离子熔射粉末颗粒飞行过程格子Boltzmann法仿真

为考察等离子熔射过程中粉末的飞行过程,本文在已开发的正六边形7-b it格子Bo ltzm ann(LB)方法等离子射流的温度场和速度场的计算模型基础上,采用单个颗粒加速方程,建立了一个随机算法,实现了对粉末颗粒在射流场中运动过程的仿真;计算结果通过动画演示了粉末飞行的全过程,表明初始位置越靠近射流场出口中心的粉末颗粒加速越充分,并且在射流场一定的情况下,减小粉末颗粒直径可以提高粉末速度,但会降低粉末利用率。     

Trajectories of charged solid particles in an air jet under the influence of an electrostatic field

Among modern coating techniques electrostatic powder spraying is one of the most attractive. In this method the plastic particles are charged by a high voltage electrode inside a coating gun. The charged particles are entrained by an air jet and directed towards the object to be coated, which is electrically grounded.In the present paper experimental trajectories of particles emerging from an electrostatic gun are determined. The equations of motion of particles in a jet are written in Lagrangean coordinates and solved numerically. Results are compared with the experimental data.     

Piezoelectric composites with periodic multi-coated inhomogeneities

A new, robust homogenization scheme for determination of the effective properties of a periodic piezoelectric composite with general multi-coated inhomogeneities is developed. In this scheme the coating does not have to be thin, the shape and orientation of the inclusion and coatings do not have to be identical, their centers do not have to coincide, their properties do not have to remain uniform, and the microstructure can be with the 2D elliptic or the 3D ellipsoidal inclusions. The development starts from the local electromechanical equivalent inclusion principle through the introduction of the position-dependent equivalent eigenstrain and electric field. Then with a Fourier series expansion and a superposition procedure, the volume-averaged equivalent eigenstrain and electric field for each phase are obtained. The results in turn are used in an energy equivalent criterion to determine the effective properties of the composite. In this model the interphase interactions in each multi-coated particle and the long-range interactions between the periodically distributed particles are fully accounted for. To demonstrate its wide range of applicability, we applied it to examine the properties of several periodic composites: (i) piezoelectric PZT spherical particles in a polymer matrix, (ii) continuous glassy fibers with thin PZT coating in an epoxy matrix, (iii) spherical PZT particles coated by thick or functionally graded piezoelectric layer, (iv) spheroidal voids coated with a thick non-piezoelectric layer in a PZT matrix, and (v) spherical piezoelectric inhomogeneities with eccentric, non-uniform thickness coating. The calculated results reflect the complex nature of interplay between the properties of core, matrix, and coating, as well as whether the coating is uniform, functionally graded, or eccentric. The accuracy of this new scheme is checked against the double-inclusion and other micromechanics models, and good agreement is observed.     

Rheological behavior of PS-melts containing surface modified PMMA-particles

The rheological properties of polystyrene (PS) compounds containing cross-linked PMMA particles are characterized by oscillatory shear experiments, while the amount of covalently grafted carboxylic-acid terminated polystyrene (CT-PS) on their surface is varied. All samples show an additional relaxation process with a long relaxation time in the frequency range where the matrix flows. The strength of this process depends strongly on the amount of particles, i.e., on the degree of filling and, to the same extent, on the different “coverage” of the particles surface, i.e., the degree of grafting. For the highest degrees of filling and in dependence on the degree of grafting a particle network is formed which is characterized by an evolving equilibrium modulus. Moreover, compatibilization by grafting CT-PS onto the PMMA particles' surface reduces the strength of the additional relaxation process remarkably. This surprising effect is related qualitatively to the balance of the interaction between particles and the interaction between the particles and the matrix due to PS grafts. Some of these results can be understood quantitatively on the basis of the sticky hard-sphere model. Received: 3 January 2000 Accepted: 14 August 2000     

Equations of hydromechanics and compression shock in two-velocity and two-temperature continuum with phase transformations

The equations of motion of multiphase mixtures have been considered in [1–10] and several other studies. In [1] it is proposed that the mixture motion be considered as an interpenetrating motion of several continua when velocity, pressure, mean density, concentration, etc., fields for each phase are introduced in the flowfield. The equations of motion are written separately for each phase, and the force effect of the other components is considered by introducing the interaction forces, which for the entire system are internal. The assumption of component barotropy is used to close the system.The energy equations are used in [2, 3] in place of the component barotropy assumption. Moreover, mixtures without phase transformations are considered. In [4] an analysis is made of the equations of turbulent motion with account for viscous forces for a two-velocity, but single-temperature medium in which equilibrium phase transformations are assumed, i. e., a two-phase medium is considered in which the phase temperatures are the same, the composition is equilibrium, but the phase velocities are different. In [5] the equations are written on the interface in a multicomponent medium consisting of barotropic fluids. A discontinuity classification is also presented here. In the aforementioned work [3] the equations on the shock are written for a continuum with particles without the use of the property of barotropy of the carrier fluid. Various different aspects of the motion of multiphase mixtures are considered in [6–11], for example, the effect of particle collisions with one another, the effect of the volume occupied by the particles on the parameters stream, shock waves, etc. In [7] a study is made of the force effect of an agitated medium on a particle on the basis of the Basset-Boussinesq-Oseen equation.In the following we derive the equations of motion of a two-velocity and two-temperature continuum with drops or particles with nonequilibrium phase transformations, i. e., a medium in which the phase velocities and temperatures are different and the composition may be nonequilibrium. In addition, we study the effect of the presence of particles or drops on the gas parameters behind a shock. Further, the equations obtained here are used to study compression waves, and in particular shock waves.The author wishes to thank Kh. A. Rakhmatulin, S. S. Grigoryan, and Yu. A. Buevich for helpful discussions and valuable comments.     

PRODUCT ENGINEERING OF PARTICULATE SOLIDS

An important development in Particle Technology is directed towards tailored product properties, i.e. product engineering. Product properties are strongly related to the disperse properties of the particles, i.e. their size, shape, morphology and surface. We discuss some general applicable principles in product engineering and give various examples. Strongly related to this approach are methods to characterize and to tailor product and particle properties. For systems which are controlled by the interfaces (e.g. particles in the micron size range and below) we apply a multi-scale approach from the particulate interfaces over particle interactions to the macroscopic properties. Thus, we tailor macroscopic product properties through microscopic control of the interfaces. This approach must be complemented by methods to characterize particle and product properties. It is shown that by careful consideration of the underlying physical processes considerable progress can be achieved.     

Analysis of mesoscale effects in high-shear granulation through a computational fluid dynamics–population balance coupled compartment model

There is a need for mesoscale resolution and coupling between flow-field information and the evolution of particle properties in high-shear granulation. We have developed a modelling framework that compartmentalizes the high-shear granulation process based on relevant process parameters in time and space. The model comprises a coupled-flow-field and population-balance solver and is used to resolve and analyze the effects of mesoscales on the evolution of particle properties. A Diosna high-shear mixer was modelled with microcrystalline cellulose powder as the granulation material. An analysis of the flow-field solution and compartmentalization allows for a resolution of the stress and collision peak at the impeller blades. Different compartmentalizations showed the importance of resolving the impeller region, for aggregating systems and systems with breakage. An independent study investigated the time evolution of the flow field by changing the particle properties in three discrete steps that represent powder mixing, the initial granulation stage mixing and the late stage granular mixing. The results of the temporal resolution study show clear changes in collision behavior, especially from powder to granular mixing, which indicates the importance of resolving mesoscale phenomena in time and space.