Investigation on the granulation behavior of iron ore fine in a horizontal high-shear granulator

High-shear granulation is widely used in many particulate industries for its good capability to improve the size, strength and composition uniformity of powder substances. This work conducted an experimental study to investigate the granulation behavior of iron ore fine in a horizontal high-shear granulator, such as granules size distribution, granules growth rate, and permeability of the granules bed. The results show that the granule size and permeability of packed granules bed increase gradually with increasing the granulation time, and the growth of granules can be divided into three stages: the rapid growth stage, the slow growth stage and the relatively stable stage. Both the higher rotational speed and larger number of impellers increase the kinetic energy and collision frequency of the particles, which causes the increase of average granule size, growth rate and permeability of granules packed bed. On the other hand, the shear damage effect of the impellers on the granules is also enhanced with the increase of rotational speed and impeller number, resulting in significant granule size segregation.     

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.     

Optimal Navier–Stokes Design of Compressor Impellers Using Evolutionary Computation

In the design of modern centrifugal compressor impellers, it is fundamental to account for three-dimensional effects and to use an optimization strategy that helps the designer to achieve the required objectives with the presence of constraints. In this paper, a fully three-dimensional optimization method is described that combines a CFD code and an evolutionary algorithm. The design scenario contemplated here involves the maximization of impeller peak efficiency with constraints on the impeller pressure ratio and operating range. The method is used to improve the performances of a baseline impeller of known characteristics. An optimal solution is proposed and compared to the original configuration.     

Circulation and mixing times for helical ribbon impellers. Review and Experiments

 The purpose of this paper is to extend basic information on mixing and circulation times for mixing systems equipped with helical ribbon impellers. In a first part, from a survey of existing literature, we have reviewed the different effects of the geometrical parameters of the helical mixing systems (clearance-wall, pitch size ratio, blade width, number of blades) on the mixing process. From this qualitative analysis, useful guidelines are provided on the influence of the helical impeller geometry on the mixing effectiveness. In a second part, the homogenization effectiveness of an atypical helical ribbon impeller was investigated and compared with the performance of classical helical ribbons impellers. Received: 1 December 1998/Accepted: 22 April 1999     

叶片型线对离心油泵性能的影响

以65Y60型离心油泵为研究对象，研究了液体不同粘度下叶片型线对泵性能的影响。首先，利用本课题组独立开发的准三元叶片设计程序以反问题方式设计了两种型线。这两种型线叶片前半部分与原一元叶轮叶片的型线不同、后半部分与一元叶轮相同。然后在不同粘度下将三个叶轮进行性能对比实验。研究表明，叶片进口附近的型线的改变对泵性能有较大影响；适当增大叶轮后盖板流面上的叶片流体动力负荷有助于提高离心油泵输送粘油时的水力性能。     

Further investigations on the influence of scale-up of a high shear granulator on the granule properties

This study focuses on the characterisation of strength, density, and size of granules produced in various scales of a high shear granulator. Calcium carbonate （Durca165） was used as the feed powder and aqueous polyethylene glycol （PEG 4000） as the binder. The dried granules were analysed for their strength, density, size distribution, and wall make-up. Granules were produced in granulators with four scales, 1, 5, 50, and 250 L under three scale-up rules of constant tip speed, constant shear stress, and constant Froude number. The results show that regardless of equipment scale, increasing the impeller speed has a great effect on crushing strength and stress. The underlying cause is an increase in granule density due to more consolidation at higher impeller speeds. Wall make-up is significantly reduced to less than 5% as the scale is increased from 1 to 250 L. The results of this study corroborate our previous findings that the constant tip speed rule is the best criterion for scale-up of high shear granulators.     

离心式渣浆泵叶轮磨损规律研究

在实验室条件下对离心式渣浆泵叶轮的磨损规律进行了研究，并对泵轮叶片间流道的颗粒运动轨迹进行数值模拟。探讨了磨粒浓度、泵转速、叶片几何参数、运行时间及磨粒粒径对泵轮磨损的影响。研究表明：叶片的磨损强度与泵轮转速呈５次方关系，叶片进口角对磨损强度影响明显，出口角对磨损强度影响不大，研究结果对渣浆泵的设计具有重要的参考价值。     

Variation of granule mass fraction with coordination number in wet granulation process

In granulation, fine particles combine to form a coarse granule in the form of a particle matrix partially or fully saturated with a binder liquid. The final product of granulation possesses a wide variety of granule size distributions with surface mean diameters which differ with operating conditions. The final granule size depends on the operating conditions, e.g. operating gas velocity, inlet air temperature, initial feed particle size, and viscosity of the binder. The objective of this paper is to find out the uniformity in the relation between the granule mass fraction in the final granule size distribution and the number of feed particles present in the granules. The total number of granules obtained depends on the experimental conditions but the granule mass fraction and the number of feed particles forming a single granule are independent of operating variables, feed material and method of granulation. The paper purports further to compare the uniform nature of mass fraction of the granules in final granule size distribution and the primary particles required to form that particular granule size irrespective of experimental conditions of granulation.     

PIV measurement of internal flow characteristics of very low specific speed semi-open impeller

Detailed particle-image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of flow fields inside semi-open impellers have been performed to understand better the internal flow patterns that are responsible for the unique performance of these centrifugal pumps operated in the range of very low specific speed. Two impellers, one equipped with six radial blades (impeller A) and the other with four conventional backward-swept blades (impeller B), are tested in a centrifugal pump designed to be operated at a non-dimensional specific speed of n_s=0.24. Complex flow patterns captured by PIV are discussed in conjunction with the overall pump performance measured separately. It is revealed that impeller A achieves higher effective head than impeller B even though the flow patterns in impeller A are more complex, exhibiting secondary flows and reverse flows in the impeller passage. It is shown that both the localized strong outward flow at the pressure side of each blade outlet and the strong outward through-flow along the suction side of each blade are responsible for the better head performance of impeller A.     

WET-GRANULATION RESEARCH WITH APPLICATION TO SCALE-UP

Summary Granulation is a unit operation by which larger granules are produced from fine, powdery particles to improve appearance, flow properties and mixedness, reduce dustiness and, in general, produce engineered particles with superior attributes. Agglomeration in wet granulation is achieved by introducing a “binder” fluid onto a shearing mass of fine powders. This paper gives a general overview of the process with emphasis on a simplified granulation model based on a dimensionless parameter containing inertia and viscous dissipation energies between colliding particles: the so-celled Stokes number. The model incorporates most common features of all granulation devices (mixers) used in the pharmaceutical industry.Also described in the paper is a computer simulation that captures the movement of flowing powder in an ideal mixer-granu/ator with constant shear rate. A fraction of the total number of particles is wet (covered by binder and there-fore “sticky”) while the rest of the particles are dry. The numerical simulation depicts two distinct regimes of agglomeration found in a typical granulator: granule growth and subsequent breakup. During granule growth-simulations, final granule size and shape distributions are obtained by analyzing the size and shape of formed granules using a pattern-recognition technique. A second kind of simulation, also using rapid granular flow modeling, follows the rotation and deformation of an “agglomerate” held together by a liquid binder. Results from these simulations yield critical values of the Stokes number. Below the cdticel value, the agglomerates are stable and only rotate in response to shear while above the critical value they break into two or more pieces. At the critical value, they attain a steady elongated shape. Using values of the critical Stokes number, the model predicts the size of formed granules.The existence of the critical state in which granules attain a characteristic elongated shape is used to measure shear forces in a granulator by employing calibrated “test” particles of known strength. This knowledge is employed in granulation scale-up to determine a kinematic rule that conserves stresses in the small and the large-scale machines. It was found that conserving the magnitude of internal stresses in the moving powder yields granules with similar attributes in granulators of different size.     

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.     

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.     

Size-dependent coalescence kernel in fertilizer granulation-A comparative study

Granulation is a key process in several industries like pharmaceutical, food, fertilizer, agrochemicals, etc. Population balance modeling has been used extensively for modeling agglomeration in many systems such as crystallization, aerosols, pelletisation, etc. The key parameter is the coalescence kernel, β（ij） which dictates the overall rate of coalescence as well as the effect of granule size on coalescence rate. Adetayo, Litster, Pratsinis, and Ennis （1995） studied fertilizer granulation with a broad size distribution and modeled it with a two-stage kernel. A constant kernel can be applied to those granules which coalesce successfully. The coalescence model gives conditions for two types of coalescence, Type I and II. A twostage kernel, which is necessary to model granule size distribution over a wide size distribution, is applied in the present fluidized bed spray granulation process. The first stage is size-independent and non-inertial regime, and is followed by a size-dependent stage in which collisions between particles are non-random, i.e. inertial regime. The present work is focused on the second stage kernel where the feed particles of volume i and j collide and form final granule ij instead of i ＋j （Adetayo et al., 1995） which gives a wider particle size distribution of granules than proposed earlier.     

DEM investigation of mixing indices in a ribbon mixer

Mixing index is an important parameter to understand and assess the mixing state in various mixers including ribbon mixers, the typical food processing devices. Many mixing indices based on either sample variance methods or non-sample variance methods have been proposed and used in the past, however, they were not well compared in the literature to evaluate their accuracy of assessing the final mixing state. In this study, discrete element method (DEM) modelling is used to investigate and compare the accuracy of these mixing indices for mixing of uniform particles in a horizontal cylindrical ribbon mixer. The sample variance methods for mixing indices are first compared both at particle- and macro-scale levels. In addition, non-sample variance methods, namely entropy and non-sampling indices are compared against the results from the sample variance methods. The simulation results indicate that, among the indices considered in this study, Lacey index shows the most accurate results. The Lacey index is regarded to be the most suitable mixing index to evaluate the steady-state mixing state of the ribbon mixer in the real-time (or without stopping the impeller) at both the particle- and macro-scale levels. The study is useful for the selection of a proper mixing index for a specific mixture in a given mixer.     

LES study on the influence of the diffuser inlet angle of a centrifugal pump on pressure fluctuations

Large-Eddy Simulations are conducted on a centrifugal pump at design and reduced flow-rates for three diffuser geometries, to investigate the effect of changing the diffuser inlet angle on the overall performance and the pressure fields. In particular, pressure fluctuations are investigated, which affect the unsteady loads acting on the pump, as well as vibrations, noise and cavitation phenomena. The considered modification of the diffuser geometry is targeted at decreasing the incidence angle at the off-design flow-rate by rotating the stationary blades of the pump around their leading edge. Results are compared against those of an earlier study, where the same modification of the diffuser inlet angle was achieved by increasing also the radial gap between impeller and diffuser, whose blades were rotated relative to their mid camber location. The comparisons across cases demonstrate that the radial gap between the trailing edge of the impeller blades and the leading edge of the diffuser blades has a more profound influence on pressure fluctuations, compared to the angle of incidence on the diffuser blades of the flow coming from the impeller.     

固粒直径对含尘风机磨损恶化规律的影响

本文对含尘离心风机内粒子的直径与叶轮磨损的关系进行了计算与分析，用Ｌａｇｒａｎｇｅ法计算了固粒在叶轮中的运动轨迹和不同粒径时叶片的磨损状况。发现小粒径粒子对叶片磨损较均匀，而大粒径粒子使叶片磨损恶化；存在一个临界粒径Ｄ＿ｃｒ，当粒径ｄ＿ｐ＜Ｄ＿ｃｒ时，随着粒径的增长，粒子对叶片磨损急剧恶化，而ｄ＿ｐ＞Ｄ＿ｃｒ时，叶片磨损随粒径增长的变化趋于平缓；固相浓度对叶轮磨损的影响也与粒子直径有关。     

A parametric study for improving the centrifugal pump impeller for use in viscous fluid pumping

Essentially, performance of centrifugal pumps is affected when pumping viscous fluids. In this paper a new idea is proposed to overcome the undesirable effects of viscosity on the pump performance parameters. This idea based on this matter that one specific impeller can be designed, made and installed on the pump for pumping of one fluid with specific viscosity. Therefore a specific pump can be used for pumping of different fluids with different viscosity, by replacement of pump impeller. Replacement of the impeller is more cost effective in comparison to the replacement of the whole of the pump. Passage width and outlet angle of impeller are considered as design variables and the effects of such variables investigated using experimentally validated numerical model. The H–Q, P–Q and η–Q graphs are extracted experimentally for the improved impeller, which show good improvement in comparison with original impeller.     

Heat and mass transfer study in fluidized bed granulation-Prediction of entry length

Fluidized bed granulation is a process by which granules or coated particles are produced in a single piece of equipment by spraying a binder as solution, suspension, or melt on the fluidized powder bed. Heat and mass transfer correlation useful for designing a granulator has been derived based on the equivalence of evaporation rate of the liquid to the heat transferred from hot gas to particles: (m/A)Dp2λ/(Lmf(1- εmf)(Tg-Tl)Kg)=hDp/Kg . This equation is applied to data on granulation experiments by different workers to calculate Reynolds number and Nusselt number to obtain a relation between heat and mass transfer from gas to particles during granulation on a logarithmic scale from which the following empirical relation is obtained: Nu = 0.0205Re1.3876 which is comparable to Kothari's correlation Nu = 0.03Re1.3. By using the heat and mass transfer correlation obtained, the entry length, that is the length of granulator up to which effective heat transfer from gas to bed particles takes place, is estimated, which is also validated with experimental study. The correct estimation of entry length is useful in optimal design of a granulator.     

Influence of jet exit conditions on mixing and statistics of flow fine structures

Mixing in a coaxial jet mixer was investigated at variable initial conditions simultaneously using PIV and PLIF methods. Velocity and concentration fields were measured at two spatial resolutions: across the mixer and in a small area at its axis resolving Kolmogorov's scale. Jet exit conditions were modeled by varying flow rate (3⋅10³ ≤ Red ≤ 1.78⋅10⁴) and by applying vortex generators (tabs) at the jet exit. The study was executed within a transition flow region. Nevertheless, it is possible to claim that in the self-similarity flow region mean flow parameters do not depend on the initial conditions but turbulence does. The influence of the initial conditions is manifested in turbulent characteristics measured at a high spatial resolution and in the size of fine structures of the studied flows.