A parametric study of cohesive particle agglomeration in a shear flow—numerical simulations by the discrete element method

In this study, we investigate numerically the shear-induced agglomeration of cohesive inertial particles in a simple shear flow. We conduct a series of numerical simulations by implementing a soft-sphere collision model. Post-processing tools are developed in-house to analyze the results of the simulations in terms of transient and terminal numbers of primary particles and agglomerates, magnitudes and distributions of agglomerate size, and fractal dimension as functions of the salient physical parameters. The obtained numerical results compared with existing transient models suggest that, as the system transitions from formation of duplets to larger agglomerates, in most cases the number of agglomerates in the system reveals clear maxima. The results also show evidence of agglomerate densification, as weaker agglomerates with lower fractal dimensions are broken up and stronger ones with higher fractal dimensions are formed. Furthermore, we found that a simple theoretical model proposed by, among others, Chimmili et al. is able to predict the temporal development of the agglomerate size properly.     

湿颗粒聚团碰撞解聚过程的离散元法模拟

基于线性接触模型、库仑滑移接触模型以及平行黏结三种接触模型的组合, 利用离散元法对包衣结构的湿颗粒聚团与壁面碰撞解聚的物理过程进行了数值模拟, 研究了碰撞过程中湿颗粒聚团解聚模式、解聚过程中聚团内各颗粒的速度变化以及颗粒间液桥断裂的规律, 分析了聚团的碰撞速度、黏附小颗粒的重力以及中心大颗粒的旋转对聚团解聚的影响. 研究发现: 聚团的碰撞解聚呈现出碰撞式、重力-碰撞式和剪切-碰撞式三种解聚模式. 湿颗粒聚团与壁面的碰撞打破了聚团内颗粒速度的一致性, 颗粒间出现相对运动而使颗粒间的液桥发生拉伸断裂. 液桥的断裂由聚团的碰撞点向外、由底部向上、由内层向外扩展. 聚团内液桥的断裂经历了缓慢断裂、快速断裂和完全断裂三个阶段. 碰撞速度越大, 黏附的小颗粒质量越大、大颗粒的转速越高, 湿颗粒聚团的缓慢断裂阶段越短暂且解聚程度越高. 模拟结果和实验符合.     

Using the DEM-CFD method to predict Brownian particle deposition in a constricted tube

Modelling of the agglomeration and deposition on a constricted tube collector of colloidal size particles immersed in a liquid is investigated using the discrete element method (DEM). The ability of this method to represent surface interactions allows the simulation of agglomeration and deposition at the particle scale. The numerical model adopts a mechanistic approach to represent the forces involved in colloidal suspensions by including near-wall drag retardation, surface interaction and Brownian forces. The model is implemented using the commercially available DEM package EDEM 2.3^®, so that results can be replicated in a standard and user-friendly framework. The effects of various particle-to-collector size ratios, inlet fluid flow-rates and particle concentrations are examined and it is found that deposition efficiency is strongly dependent on the inter-relation of these parameters. Particle deposition and re-suspension mechanisms have been identified and analyzed thanks to EDEM's post processing capability. One-way coupling with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is considered and results are compared with a two-way coupling between EDEM 2.3^® and FLUENT 12.1^®. It is found that two-way coupling requires circa 500% more time than one-way coupling for similar results.     

Eulerian-Lagrangian simulation of distinct clustering phenomena and RTDs in riser and downer

Numerical simulation of fully developed hydrodynamics of a riser and a downer was carried out using an Eulerian-Lagrangian model, where the particles are modeled by the discrete element method (DEM) and the gas by the Navier-Stokes equations. Periodic flow domain with two side walls was adopted to simulate the fully developed dynamics in a 2D channel of 10 cm in width. All the simulations were carried out under the same superficial gas velocity and solids holdup in the domain, starting with a homogenous sta...     

The J2 invariant relative configuration of spaceborne SAR interferometer for digital elevation measurement

A 3-craft formation configuration is proposed to perform the digital elevation model （DEM） for the distributed spacebome interferometric synthetic aperture radar （InSAR）, and it is optimized by the modified ant colony algorithm to have the best compatibility with J2 invariant orbits created by differential correction algorithm. The configuration has succeeded in assigning the across-track baseline to vary periodically and with its mean value equal to the optimal baseline determined by the relative height measurement accuracy. The required relationship between crafts＇ magnitudes and phases is formulated for the general case of interferometry measure from non-orthographic and non-lateral view. The J2 invariant configurations created by differential correction algorithm are employed to investigate their compatibility with the required configuration. The colony algorithm is applied to search the optimal configuration holding the near-constant across-track baseline under the J2 perturbation, and the absolute height measurement accuracy is preferable as expected.     

基于GIS技术的淹没区确定方法及虚拟现实表达

给出了基于数字高程模型的 GRID结构 ,适合两种不同类型淹没区的计算方法 ,尤其是第 2种 “洪水淹没” 类型方法较有特色 .对于采用本方法计算淹没区 ,准确性受地形图等高距大小、数字化采集 精度、数字地面模型 (DEM )高程精度以及格网间隔大小、像素探测分辨率等因素的影响. 等高距越小 , 数字化跟踪误差越小 ,数字地面模型内插越密 ,格网跨度越短 ,探测分辨率越高 ,淹没区计算精度也就越 好 .空间数据总量及探测分辨率决定了整个算法模型的效率.最后 ,介绍了将淹没区范围采用 OpenGL 工具进行虚拟现实三维可视化所涉及的关键技术和方法.该方法在已完成的九五国家地方重大攻关项 目所开发的《大型网络级水利防汛及流域规划动态管理信息系统》中得到实现.     

Comparison of non-cohesive resolved and coarse grain DEM models for gas flow through particle beds

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a widely used approach for modelling granular systems. Currently, the number of particles which can be tractably modelled using DEM is several orders of magnitude lower than the number of particles present in common large-scale industrial systems. Practical approaches to modelling such industrial system therefore usually involve modelling over a limited domain, or with larger particle diameters and a corresponding assumption of scale invariance. These assumption are, however, problematic in systems where granular material interacts with gas flow, as the dynamics of the system depends heavily on the number of particles. This has led to a number of suggested modifications for coupled gas–grain DEM to effectively increase the number of particles being simulated. One such approach is for each simulated particle to represent a cluster of smaller particles and to re-formulate DEM based on these clusters. This, known as a representative or ‘coarse grain’ method, potentially allows the number of virtual DEM particles to be approximately the same as the real number of particles at relatively low computational cost. We summarise the current approaches to coarse grain models in the literature, with emphasis on discussion of limitations and assumptions inherent in such approaches. The effectiveness of the method is investigated for gas flow through particle beds using resolved and coarse grain models with the same effective particle numbers. The pressure drop, as well as the pre and post fluidisation characteristics in the beds are measured and compared, and the relative saving in computational cost is weighed against the effectiveness of the coarse grain approach. In general, the method is found perform reasonably well, with a considerable saving of computational time, but to deviate from empirical predictions at large coarse grain ratios.     

含石量对土石混合体压桩承载力影响的离散元分析

土石混合体是介于土体和岩体之间的一种非均质、非连续和非线性的特殊工程地质材料,其在压桩贯入过程中的承载力受含石量的影响非常显著。本文分别采用球形颗粒和非规则镶嵌组合颗粒模拟土体颗粒和块石,对不同含石量下压桩贯入过程进行离散元数值分析。计算结果表明,桩柱阻力及其波动规律在不同含石量下有很大的差别。高含石量下的阻力要明显大于低含石量下的阻力,且其波动性也更加明显。通过对土石混合体内部力链结构的细观分析,揭示了压桩贯入过程中承载力随含石量变化的内在机理。以上研究有助于分析土石混合体材料的宏观力学行为,深入研究其在复杂工程条件下的力学特性。     

Using the DEM-CFD method to predict Brownian particle deposition in a constricted tube

Modelling of the agglomeration and deposition on a constricted tube collector of colloidal size particles immersed in a liquid is investigated using the discrete element method （DEM）. The ability of this method to represent surface interactions allows the simulation of agglomeration and deposition at the particle scale. The numerical model adopts a mechanistic approach to represent the forces involved in colloidal suspensions by including near-wall drag retardation, surface interaction and Brownian forces. The model is implemented using the commercially available DEM package EDEM 2.3~, so that results can be repli- cated in a standard and user-friendly framework. The effects of various particle-to-collector size ratios, inlet fluid flow-rates and particle concentrations are examined and it is found that deposition efficiency is strongly dependent on the inter-relation of these parameters. Particle deposition and re-suspension mechanisms have been identified and analyzed thanks to EDEM＇s post processing capability. One-way coupling with computational fluid dynamics （CFD） is considered and results are compared with a two- way coupling between EDEM 2.3 and FLUENT 12.1. It is found that two-way coupling requires circa 500% more time than one-way coupling for similar results.