The flow behavior of powder stearin-based methyl ester sulfonates and the effect of glidant

The preparation and behavior of powder stearin-based methyl ester sulfonates (MES) with the addition of builder as a glidant agent was studied. MES is an anionic surfactant and its performance is equivalent to petroleum-based linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), the workhorses of the detergent industry. At the same time, zeolites or soda ash were the alternative builders for non-phosphate-based detergent. The behavior of powder MES properties was measured in terms of morphology, particle size, cohesion, caking, and compaction. Before that, these palm stearin-based MES of carbon chain 16–18 with ratios of 98:2, 80:20, and 60:40 in flakes were ground using a high shear mixer by 23,000 rpm to produce powder particles. Decreasing the particle size of MES powder can reduce the powder's cohesion, caking, and compaction. The addition of zeolite or soda ash as a glidant in powdered MES can improve the caking behavior. The high stearic in MES greatly influenced getting fine particle powders and required more glidant agents. This powder MES with excellent powder characteristics can perform well as a bio-based cleaning product.     

激光烧蚀下不同颗粒度Al-teflon的反应行为

为研究不同颗粒度对Al-teflon反应行为的影响,以颗粒度25μm、1μm和20～200 nm的Al粉和微米级Teflon粉混合制备的反应材料为研究对象,基于脉冲激光烧蚀实验,结合ICCD相机和光谱仪对反应过程中的自发光成像和发射光谱进行瞬态观测。研究结果表明,Al-teflon反应材料在激光烧蚀下的反应行为体现出典型的二次反应特征,具有持续燃烧特征和明显的后燃效应,也具有较长的能量释放时间;同时,其反应行为与Al粉颗粒度密切相关:初始阶段,反应随Al粉颗粒度的降低加剧,随着反应的进行,纳米级Al粉对应的反应材料后续反应能力逐渐下降,反应强度和反应时间都小于1μm铝粉对应的反应材料。     

Correlation of powder flow properties to interparticle interactions at ambient and high temperatures

A combination of a continuum approach and a particle–particle approach to describe the multi-scale nature of the mechanical properties of bulk solids may be beneficial to scientific and engineering applications. In this paper, a procedure is proposed to estimate the interparticle forces beginning with the bulk flow properties as measured with standardized techniques. In particular, the relationship between interparticle forces and bulk solid tensile strength is adopted based on the microscale approaches of Rumpf (1970) and Molerus (1975). The flow properties of fluid cracking catalyst (FCC), corundum and glass bead powders were all characterized with a modified Schulze ring shear cell capable of operating at temperatures up to 500 °C. The powder test conditions were selected such that the van der Waals forces were the most significant particle–particle interactions. The model equations describe two cases, in which either elastic or plastic deformation of the contact points is assumed. The results indicate that the model provides the correct order of magnitude for the values of the tensile strength when proper values for the mean curvature radius at the contact points are taken into account. A sensitivity analysis for the main parameters in the model was performed. This analysis indicated that the assumption of plastic deformation at contact surfaces coupled with a decrease in porosity justified an increase of the tensile strength with consolidation stress. Furthermore, the effect of temperature on the measured flow behavior can be explained as a change in the strength of the material.     

Static and dynamic compaction of ceramic powders

The static and dynamic compaction of ceramic powders was investigated experimentally using a high-pressure friction-compensated press to achieve static stresses of 1.6 GPa and with a novel gas gun setup to stresses of 5.9 GPa for a tungsten carbide powder. Experiments were performed in the partial compaction region to nearly full compaction. The effects of variables including initial density, particle size distribution, particle morphology, and loading path were investigated in the static experiments. Only particle morphology was found to significantly affect the compaction response. Post-test examination of the powder reveals fracture of the grains as well as breaking at particle edges. In dynamic experiments, steady structured compaction waves traveling at very low velocities were observed. The strain rate within the compaction waves was found to scale nearly linearly with the shock stress, in contrast with many fully dense materials where strain rate scales with stress to the fourth power. Similar scaling is found for data from the literature on TiO₂ powder. The dynamic response of WC powder is found to be significantly stiffer than the static response, probably because deformation in the dynamic case is confined to the relatively narrow compaction wave front. Comparison of new static powder compaction results with shock data from the literature for SiO₂ also reveals a stiffer dynamic response.     

Flow properties of three fuel powders

Flow and physical properties were measured for three fuel powders: sawdust, brown coal and hard coal. Besides physical properties, e.g., particle size, bulk density and moisture content, flowability was investigated using the standard shear testing technique of the Jenike shear cell. Flow functions of the three powders used for characterization of bulk flow and design of hoppers were determined, and then compared and discussed. The flow functions of the three powders are located in different regions: while brown coal and hard coal were classified respectively as easy flowing and cohesive material, sawdust was found in regions varying from cohesive to easy flowing at low consolidation stress. The measured effective angle of internal friction and angle of wall friction were 55° and 31.4° for sawdust; 36.2° and 26° for brown coal; and 43.3° and 27.8° for hard coal. Using the measured powder flow properties, Jenike's procedure was then followed to estimate and compare the critical hopper dimensions for mass flow of the three powders.     

Uniaxial compression tests at various loading rates for reactive powder concrete

Concrete is a material that is sensitive to the rate of loading. Understanding the dynamic behavior of concrete under various circumstances is an issue of great significance for applications in civilian and military engineering. Hence, an experimental investigation on the dynamic mechanical properties of the reactive powder concrete (RPC) was conducted using the split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The specimens were made with different steel fibre volume fractions and the strain rate ranged from 10¹ s⁻¹ to 10³ s⁻¹. The results show the obvious rate-dependent mechanical behavior exists for RPC. Moreover, the different of the characteristic of energy absorbed are compared.     

An investigation into flow mode transition and pressure fluctuations for fluidized dense-phase pneumatic conveying of fine powders

This paper presents the results of an ongoing investigation into the fluctuations of pressure signals due to solids–gas flows for dense-phase pneumatic conveying of fine powders. Pressure signals were obtained from pressure transducers installed along different locations of a pipeline for the fluidized dense-phase pneumatic conveying of fly ash (median particle diameter 30 μm; particle density 2300 kg/m³; loose-poured bulk density 700 kg/m³) and white powder (median particle diameter 55 μm; particle density 1600 kg/m³; loose-poured bulk density 620 kg/m³) from dilute to fluidized dense-phase. Standard deviation and Shannon entropy were employed to investigate the pressure signal fluctuations. It was found that there is an increase in the values of Shannon entropy and standard deviation for both of the products along the flow direction through the straight pipe sections. However, both the Shannon entropy and standard deviation values tend to decrease after the flow through bend(s). This result could be attributed to the deceleration of particles while flowing through the bends, resulting in dampened particle fluctuation and turbulence. Lower values of Shannon entropy in the early parts of the pipeline could be due to the non-suspension nature of flow (dense-phase), i.e., there is a higher probability that the particles are concentrated toward the bottom of pipe, compared with dilute-phase or suspension flow (high velocity), where the particles could be expected to be distributed homogenously throughout the pipe bore (as the flow is in suspension). Changes in straight-pipe pneumatic conveying characteristics along the flow direction also indicate a change in the flow regime along the flow.     

Contribution of different granulometric populations to powder reactivity

In this article, different population contributions of quartz powders to chemical reactivity in pozzolanic reaction were studied. Deconvolution software was used to show the different particle populations of each product. Reaction of quartz powder with lime in the pozzolanic reaction at 20 °C shows that reactivity of each powder population depends on its particle size. Adsorbed fine particles on coarse particle surfaces have a significant role in the first term of the reaction. In a second term, the micropo...     

Critical diameter of liquid explosives as a function of powder content

The dependence of the critical diameter (d*) of nitromethane (NM) on the content of aluminum, aluminum oxide, tungsten powders, carbon black, and talc and the dependence of the d* of tetranitromethane (TNM) on aluminum and aluminum oxide content have been experimentally investigated. The powder content was varied over'a wide range (0–75% by weight), as was the particle size. It was found that for NM mixtures the variation of d* is quite different from that for TNM. For powder particle sizes of 1–50 the d* of the NM mixtures decreases with increase in powder concentration. The minimum value of d* is ten times less than the value for pure NM. In TNM mixtures d* increases monotonically with the amount of powder. It is assumed that this behavior of the NM mixtures is associated with the inhomogeneous structure of the detonation front in NM, a consequence of the particular reaction kinetics characteristic of nitromethane.     

Flow properties of fine powders in powder coating

Three types of nanoparticles and their combinations were blended into a fine powder,which has been used in the powder coating industry.To study their effects on flow properties,the modified powder samples were characterized using a variety of techniques that tested the powder under different powder states ranging from dynamic to static.It was found that all three nanoparticles improved the flow properties of the powder to some degree,though the amounts of the nanoparticles needed were different depending on...     

Validation of a numerical model for the simulation of an electrostatic powder coating process

Numerical modeling of a complete powder coating process is carried out to understand the gas-particle two-phase flow field inside a powder coating booth and results of the numerical simulations are compared with experimental data to validate the numerical results. The flow inside the coating booth is modeled as a three-dimensional turbulent continuous gas flow with solid powder particles as a discrete phase. The continuous gas flow is predicted by solving Navier–Stokes equations using a standard k–ε turbulence model with non-equilibrium wall functions. The discrete phase is modeled based on a Lagrangian approach. In the calculation of particle propagation, a particle size distribution obtained through experiments is applied. The electrostatic field, including the effect of space charge due to free ions, is calculated with the use of the user defined scalar transport equations and user defined scalar functions in the software package, FLUENT, for the electrostatic potential and charge density.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ZrO2 (Y2O3)–Al2O3 nanocomposites prepared by spark plasma sintering

Zirconia (yttria)–alumina ceramic nanocomposites were fabricated from different powders by spark plasma sintering (SPS). One powder was a commercially available nanocomposite powder TZP-3Y20A, consisting of 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3-YSZ) reinforced with 20 wt% alumina, and the other, used as a comparison, was a conventional mechanically mixed powder 3YSZ-20A, a blend made of 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia powder ZrO₂ (3Y) and 20 wt% α-alumina powder. The effect of the sintering temperature on the densification, the sintering behavior, the mechanical properties and the microstructure of the composites was investigated. The results showed that the density increased with increasing sintering temperature, and thus, the mechanical properties were strengthened because of the increased densification. The nanocomposite powder TZP-3Y20A was easily sintered, and good mechanical properties were achieved as compared with the powder from the conventional mechanically mixed method, the maximum flexural strength and fracture toughness of which were 967 MPa and 5.27 MPa m^1/2, respectively.     

尼龙粉末在SLS预热温度下的离散元模型参数确定及其流动特性分析

尼龙粉末是增材制造中常用的粉体材料,温度对其流动性有重要影响. 探索尼龙粉末增材制造预热温度下的流动性是研究选择性激光烧结(selective laser sintering, SLS)工艺中粉体铺展成形的基础. 选取SLS技术中的尼龙粉末为原材料,采用离散元数值方法,研究尼龙粉末的流动行为,是增材制造工艺数值模拟和铺粉工艺优化的研究热点. 以Hertz-Mindlin模型为基础,基于Hamaker理论模型和库伦定律,在尼龙粉末的接触动力学模型中引入范德华力和静电力,建立预热温度下尼龙粉末流动的离散元模型(discrete element method, DEM),通过对比相应实验结果,标定了该模型的参数. 对加热旋转圆筒中尼龙粉末流动过程进行了DEM数值模拟,校核了所建模型的正确性,并研究了粉体粒径分布对尼龙粉末流动特性的影响规律. 研究表明,尼龙粉末黏附力是静电力与范德华力的共同作用结果;随着粉体粒径的增大,尼龙粉末崩塌角增大,流动性增强;相对于高斯粒径分布,粒径均匀分布的尼龙粉末颗粒流动性更强. 研究结果可指导SLS中铺粉工艺的优化.      

Computational fluid dynamics simulations of aerosol behavior in a high-speed (Heubach) rotating drum dustiness tester

Potential exposure from hazardous dust may be assessed by evaluating the dustiness of the powders being handled. Dustiness is the tendency of a powder to aerosolize with a given input of energy. Previously we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to numerically investigate the flow inside the European Standard (EN15051) rotating drum dustiness tester during its operation. The present work extends those CFD studies to the widely used Heubach rotating drum. Air flow characteristics are investigated within the Abe-Kondoh-Nagano k-epsilon turbulence model; the aerosol is incorporated via a Euler-Lagrangian multiphase approach. The air flow inside these drums consists of a well-defined axial jet penetrating relatively quiescent air. The spreading of the Heubach jet results in a fraction of the jet recirculating as back-flow along the drum walls; at high rotation rates, the axial jet becomes unstable. This flow behavior qualitatively differs from the stable EN15051 flow pattern. The aerodynamic instability promotes efficient mixing within the Heubach drum, resulting in higher particle capture efficiencies for particle sizes d < 80 μm.     

Rheological properties of paraffin suspensions of surface-modified alumina powder for low-pressure injection moulding

Due to the hygroscopic nature of fine alumina powders, the presence of water may have a detrimental effect on the rheological properties of a suspension in melted paraffin for low-pressure injection moulding (LPIM). For this reason, a modification of the powder surface from hydrophilic to hydrophobic is essential for the production of high-quality moulded ceramics. In our paper, the efficiency of the application and the chemisorption of protective monomolecular layers of a long-chain carboxylic acid or its salts will be presented. The effect of the powder treatment on the shear viscosity and the viscoelastic properties of the suspensions for LPIM as well as on their stability in terms of the detrimental effect of water will be discussed.This paper was presented at the first Annual European Rheology Conference (AERC) held in Guimarães, Portugal, September 11-13, 2003.     

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.     

Relationship between single and bulk mechanical properties for zeolite ZSM5 spray-dried particles

In this work typical mechanical properties for a catalyst support material, ZSM5 （a spray-dried granular zeolite）, have been measured in order to relate the bulk behaviour of the powder material to the single particle mechanical properties. Particle shape and size distribution of the powders, determined by laser diffraction and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, confirmed the spherical shape of the spray-dried particles. The excellent flowability of the material was assessed by typical methods such as the Hausner ratio and the Cart index, This was confirmed by bulk measurements of the particle-particle internal friction parameter and flow function using a Schulze shear cell, which also illustrated the low compressibility of the material. Single particle compression was used to characterize single particle mechanical properties such as reduced elastic modulus and strength from Hertz contact mechanics theory. Comparison with surface properties obtained from nanoindentation suggests heterogeneity, the surface being harder than the core. In order to evaluate the relationship between single particle mechanical properties and bulk compression behaviour, uniaxial confined compression was carried out. It was determined that the Adams model was suitable for describing the bulk compression and furthermore that the Adams model parameter, apparent strength of single particles, was in good agreement with the single particle strength determined from single particle compression test.     

Flow properties and inter-particle forces in fuel powders

This work studied the mechanical properties of a series of industrial fuel powders: bituminite, lignite, and petroleum coke. Sieved cuts of these powders were assessed and the flow properties of each sample were used to calculate tensile strengths as functions of consolidation stress. In addition, BET surface areas and dispersive surface energies were estimated from surface energy analysis. To analyze the bulk flow properties of these fuel powders in terms of micro-contact mechanics, the fundamentals of fuel powder adhesion and consolidation were reconsidered based on the “stiff particles with soft contacts” model proposed by Tomas. In the present work, a multi-contact concept was introduced to account for the irregular shapes of actual particles. This modified model was based on elastic–plastic contact deformation theory and was employed to describe the contact between rough particles and to estimate the associated inter-particle forces. The results were used in conjunction with the Rumpf approach to relate the isostatic tensile strength to the degree of consolidation. Applying average values for the powder compressibility parameters allowed the model to be used for predictive purposes, and an acceptable level of agreement was found between predicted and measured tensile strengths.     

High-frequency dielectric properties of BSTO ceramic prepared with hydrothermal synthesized SrTiO3 and BaTiO3 powders

BSTO dielectric ceramic was prepared from SrTi03 and BaTi03 powders synthesized by hydrothermal method, as well as from Bao.sSro.4TiO3 powder synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction. The former can be sintered at a relatively low temperature of 1120 ℃. Characterization by SEM showed that the grain shapes of both ceramics are cubical, though the grain size of the former is much smaller. Dielectric constants measured at 20℃ were shown to vary with frequency in the range from I kHz to 2 MHz and dc bias field, and further that the dielectric loss of the former to be less than 2 × 10^- 3 in the frequency range of 20 kHz to 1 MHz, much smaller than that of the latter sample. For the former, temperature dependence of dielectric constant is much flatter and there exists an extended phase transition diffusion covering a wide temperature range of Curie temperature To. The smaller grain size of the former depresses the dc bias electrical field dependence of dielectric constant. The tunability is 7% under a bias field of 0.6 kV/mm dc.     

Investigation of influence of coal properties on dense-phase pneumatic conveying at high pressure

Experiments of dense-phase pneumatic conveying of pulverized coal using nitrogen were carried out in a test facility at pressures of up to 3.7 MPa to study the effects of coal type, particle size and moisture content on flow characteristics. The Jenike shear test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to provide a better understanding of effects of the material properties on flow characteristics. Two kinds of pulverized coals, Yanzhou and Datong, with similar particle size, moisture content and density, were used in the test. Pressure drop increases with increasing the particle size at similar solid–gas ratio, superficial velocity and pressure in the receiving hopper, and pressure drops through different test sections decrease firstly and then rise with increasing the conveying velocity for the same particle size, mass flow rate and pressure in the receiving hopper. The flowability of pulverized coal decreases with increasing the moisture content in the range from 3.24% to 8.18%. Unconfined yield strength (UYS) increases and flow function (FF) decreases with increasing the moisture content. Results of the shearing tests are consistent with the results of the conveying study. Pressure drops through different test sections are discussed and analyzed.