A study of floc breakup and formation in flowing concentrated fiber suspensions

An experimental study was carried out to examine the effects of fiber concentration and average flow velocity on the breakup of fiber flocs and the subsequent reflocculation process downstream of a converging/diverging flow section used as a turbulence generator. Flocculation measurements were made using fiber optic probes and are presented in terms of floc-size distributions. These were complemented with pressure fluctuation measurements used to indicate the state of fluidization of the suspension.