Effective Kawakita parameters for binary mixtures

Despite the fact that many industrial processes use mixtures of powders with different physical and mechanical properties, most fundamental studies of powder compression have focused on single-component systems. There is thus an obvious need for an improved understanding of the compression behaviour of mixtures of particulate and granular solids. In this contribution, we show that the Kawakita equation may be particularly useful in this regard. The reason for this is that the degree of compression (i.e., the ratio between the volume reduction and the initial powder volume) for sufficiently high compression pressures P is a linear function of 1 / P. For ideal mixtures, for which the volume of each component may be determined independently of the others, this linearity implies that effective Kawakita parameters for the mixture may be readily expressed in terms of the parameters of its components. In order to validate the proposed approach, binary mixtures of mm-sized spherical agglomerates prepared by wet granulation followed by extrusion and spheronization were investigated experimentally. Predicted and measured Kawakita parameters were generally in good agreement, indicating that the assumption of ideal mixing behaviour is valid for this type of systems.     

An effective-medium analysis of confined compression of granular materials

A simplified model for confined compression of granular materials is considered, which idealizes the collection of particles as a (central) force network. Applying an effective-medium procedure, an equation with micromechanically well-defined parameters is derived, which relates the applied pressure to the engineering strain of the powder during uniaxial compression. Despite the simplicity of the model, comparison with experimental data for mm-sized spherical granules indicates that this equation is able to satisfactorily predict the overall compression profile from single-particle data.     

Effect of lubrication on the distribution of force between spherical agglomerates during compression

We employ the carbon paper technique to aid the understanding of in die force and spatial distributions, upon compression of approximately 1 mm sized spherical agglomerates (pellets) of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The aim in this study was to test for the effect of lubricant film on force and spatial distributions. Pellets of MCC were formed via granulation and extrusion/spheronisation. Investigation of pellet bed compression was performed on a materials tester. Prior to compression studies the pellets were characterised for bulk density, size and deformability. Two pellet types were investigated; MCC and MCC lubricated with magnesium stearate. The carbon paper technique relies upon carbon paper as the medium for transferring imprints from compressed pellets onto photo quality paper. The digitised images of these imprints form the basis of analysis through the use of image processing software. Using the carbon paper technique within the range of 10-30 MPa indicates that lubrication does not have a significant effect on the distribution of forces between spherical agglomerates during uniaxial compression. Spatial analysis of the imprints revealed that the lubricated pellets exhibited a higher packing order than the unlubricated ones at low applied pressures (10 and 20 MPa), a difference that could not be observed at 30 MPa. Hence interparticle friction and/or cohesion appear to influence the initial particle rearrangement, whereas confinement is suggested to dominate at higher pressures.     

Effect of spherical-agglomerate strength on the distribution of force during uniaxial compression

We employ the carbon paper technique with the aim of investigating the effect of spherical-agglomerate (pellet) strength on force distributions, through confined compression of approximately 1 mm sized pellets formed from microcrystalline cellulose and polyethylene glycol. The carbon paper technique relies on the transference of imprints from compressed pellets onto white photo quality paper, which are digitised and processed via image processing software. The investigated pellets can both deform plastically and develop localised cracks in response to an applied stress, while remaining largely intact during confined compression. Our results indicate that such crack formation - henceforth referred to as fracture - has a decisive influence on force distributions. Previous work on non-fracturing systems has found that the distribution of normalized forces tends to narrow with increasing particle deformation. No narrowing is observed after the point of fracture in this study and the width of the distributions - as quantified by the standard deviation of non-normalized forces - is found to increase with the difference between non-normalized mean force and fracture force. Additional corroborative results show that spatial force-force correlations typically exhibit a marked change once the fracture force is exceeded.     

Mean residence time and hold-up of solids in rotary kilns

The influence of operational variables on the mean residence time (MRT) and hold-up of the solids in rotary kilns has been investigated by many researchers. However, their reports on the influence of the feed rate on MRT, for example, are not consistent with one another. In this study, experiments are conducted on a 400 mm ID pilot kiln with a cylindrical discharge dam. Sand is used as the testing solids. MRT and the hold-up are measured under various feed rates and rotation speeds. Experimental results indicate that MRT increases slightly with the feed rate, and that the gradient is smaller at high rotation speeds. The hold-up shows a near-linear increase with the mass of feed per kiln rotation. The experimental data are then used to test equations provided by different researchers for the prediction of MRT. Comparisons show that, results of the empirical equation from Sullivan, J.D., Maier, C.G., Ralson, O.C. [1927. Passage of solid particles through rotary cylindrical kilns. U.S. Bureau of Mines Technical Paper No. 384.] agree well with measurements for the cases of low kiln loadings, while the numerical model of Saeman, W.C. [1951. Passage of solids through rotary kilns: factors affecting time of passage. Chemical Engineering Progress 47, 508-514.] gives good predictions over the entire range of parameters considered.     

Effects of an electrostatic field in pneumatic conveying of granular materials through inclined and vertical pipes

The pneumatic transport of granular materials through an inclined and vertical pipe in the presence of an electrostatic field was studied numerically using the discrete element method (DEM) coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and a simple electrostatic field model. The simulation outputs corresponded well with previously reported experimental observations and measurements carried out using electrical capacitance tomography and high-speed camera techniques in the present study. The eroding dunes and annular flow regimes, observed experimentally by previous research workers in inclined and vertical pneumatic conveying, respectively, were reproduced computationally by incorporating a simplified electrostatic field model into the CFD-DEM method. The flow behaviours of solid particles in these regimes obtained from the simulations were validated quantitatively by experimental observations and measurements. In the presence of a mild electrostatic field, reversed flow of particles was seen in a dense region close to the bottom wall of the inclined conveying pipe and forward flow in a more dilute region in the space above. At sufficiently high field strengths, complete backflow of solids in the inclined pipe may be observed and a higher inlet gas velocity would be required to sustain a net positive flow along the pipe. However, this may be at the expense of a larger pressure drop over the entire conveying line. In addition, the time required for a steady state to be attained whereby the solids flow rate remains substantially constant with respect to time was also dependent on the amount of electrostatic effects present within the system. The transient period was observed to be longer when the electrostatic field strength was higher. Finally, a flow map or phase diagram was proposed in the present study as a useful reference for designers of inclined pneumatic conveying systems and a means for a better understanding of such systems.     

On the electrostatics of pneumatic conveying of granular materials using electrical capacitance tomography

In this work the electrostatics of the pneumatic conveying of granular materials in a non-conducting (PVC) pipe is studied using Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) system. The non-conducting wall in general attains static charges arising from particle-wall collisions in the initial periods of conveying process and then reaches equilibrium with the surroundings. The polarity of particles and conveying pipe inner wall agrees reasonably well with the contact potential difference measurements. The perturbations in the capacitance signal due to charge accumulation are larger with smaller air superficial velocity. The denser flow regimes give larger wall residual charge. Wall charging process shows similar trend described by surface potential taken from electrostatic voltmeter to that revealed by ECT measurements. Also the addition of small amount (0.5% by weight) of anti-static agent (Larostat-519) in the powder form decreases the electrostatic charge generation by altering the dynamics of particle-particle and the particle-wall collisions.     

Comparative study of the mechanical properties of sinterized magnetic alloys applied to electrical machines' core

This paper aims at making a comparative study of some soft magnetic material alloys, which are likely to be used in the construction of rotative electrical machines' core or electrical motors. Therefore, this study focus on the building of massive cores, obtained from the conventional powder metallurgy process, also known as sinterized materials. The mechanical properties of hardness and yield stress are analyzed and compared, resulting in an increase of hardness and yield stress due to the influence of diffusion among the elements utilized in the alloys.     

Investigation of the impact of insoluble diluents on the compression and release properties of matrix based sustained release tablets

In the present study the effect of insoluble diluents such as microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and dibasic calcium phosphate (DCP) on the compression characteristics and release profile of sustained release tablets containing Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) matrices was investigated. The effect of diluents on the compression characteristics was studied using Heckel and Kawakita equations. The effect of compression forces on the release profile was also investigated. Diclofenac Sodium (DS) was used as a model drug. Tablets were prepared using wet granulation method. It was found that there is a decrease in the drug release as the concentration of these insoluble diluents is increased. From the Heckel and Kawakita analysis it was concluded that the compressed granules of formulations containing microcrystalline cellulose showed higher plastic deformation, densification and granule fragmentation as compared to DCP. Also a relationship was evaluated between the compression force and the release profile i.e. an increase in compression force causes decrease in the release rate of the drug from the formulation irrespective of change in the diluent.     

Relaxation properties of particle filled coatings: Experimental study and modelling of a screw joint

The present study describes the mechanical behaviour of powder coatings used under very high compressive loads in clamping force joints. Carboxyl functional polyester powder coatings cured with hydroxyl functional β-hydroxyalkylamides with variations in amount of filler have been studied. The coatings were subjected to relaxation tests in tension and in compression. The tests in compression were performed in specially designed tests developed to study the behaviour of powder coatings under compressive loads in clamping force joints. The relaxation results for the matrix were used in a unit cell in micromechanical finite element (FE) model to predict the homogenised viscoelastic properties of the particle composite. These constitutive properties were subsequently used to evaluate the behaviour on a macromechanical scale in a screw joint. The model corresponds well with experimental data at ambient temperature. When increasing the temperature above the glass transition of the coating, however, the model predictions and experimental data differ. Experiments in compression show a much lower relaxation as compared to the FE model. The relaxation simulations of the coating under compressive loads from screw joints showed a significant sensitivity to the Poisson's ratio of the polymer matrix. As the Poisson's ratio approaches 0.5, the matrix becomes hydrostatically incompressible, which resulted in a negligible relaxation of the coating at the screw joint.     

Confined compression of elastic adhesives at high rates of strain

Elastic adhesives are used in composite armours to bond the ceramic front face and the metallic backing plate. The mechanical behaviour of different elastic adhesives under impact loads have been studied by means of dynamic compression tests performed in a split Hopkinson pressure bar. In this experiments, the stress-strain curve of confined materials at high strain rates and the capability of transmitting and reflecting the impact energy have been determined. The influence of thickness and ageing on the response of the adhesive layer have been also considered.     

Structure and mechanical properties of nanofibrous ZrO2 derived from alternating field electrospun precursors

Nanofibrous zirconia (ZrO₂) meshes were prepared from precursor fibers which were synthesized using the method of free-surface, high-yield alternating field electrospinning (AFES). The weight ratio of zirconyl chloride salt to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer in liquid precursors was investigated for its effect on the spinnability and formation of precursor fibers as well as on the resulting fibrous ZrO₂. The precursor fiber generation measured at a rate up to 5.6 g/h was achieved with a single flat 25-mm diameter alternating current (AC) electrode, which corresponded to production of up to 1.5 g/h of fibrous ZrO₂. The calcination process involved annealing the fibers at temperatures which ranged from 600 °C to 1000 °C and produced 0.1–0.2 mm thick fibrous ZrO₂ meshes. Individual nanofibers were found to have diameters between 50 and 350 nm and either a tetragonal (t-ZrO₂) or monoclinic (t-ZrO₂) structure depending on the calcination temperature. The annealed meshes with total porosity between 98.0 ± 0.2% and 94.6 ± 0.2% showed little deformation or cracking. Tensile strength and modulus of fibrous t-ZrO₂ meshes strongly depended on porosity and varied from 0.07 ± 0.03 MPa to 1.05 ± 0.3 MPa and from 90 ± 40 MPa to 388 ± 20 MPa, respectively. The m-ZrO₂ meshes resulted similar moduli, but much lower strengths due to their brittleness. A power-law relationship between the elastic modulus and porosity of AFES-derived nanofibrous t-ZrO₂ meshes, in comparison with other porous zirconia materials, was also investigated. The results of this study have demonstrated the feasibility of free-surface AFES in sizeable production of zirconia nanofibers and highly porous nanofibrous ceramic structures.     

Measurement of the velocity field and frictional properties of wet masses in a high shear mixer

In order to develop predictive process models and to enhance process understanding in high shear granulation, there is an ongoing search for non-intrusive methods for measuring the wet mass velocities in the mixer. In this study, a high speed CCD camera is used in combination with software for particle image velocimetry (PIV) calculations to obtain information about the wet mass velocities. The focus has been on obtaining good spatial and angular resolution for the velocities along the glass bowl wall. In a Jenike shear cell, both internal and wall frictional properties have been measured and together with velocity data, this information is used for prediction of the impeller torque. It has been shown that the near wall velocities are strongly dependent on the coefficient of wall friction, which decreases during liquid addition. The decrease in the coefficient of wall friction results in increased wet mass velocities close to the bowl wall. It is also found that the wet mass velocity has a strong angular dependence, resulting in a high frequency pulsing bed behaviour which cannot be detected by visual inspection. The predictive impeller torque model developed by Knight et al. [2001. Prediction of impeller torque in high shear powder mixers. Chemical Engineering Science 56, 4457-4471] has been generalized to account for cohesive materials and with frictional and velocity data, the level of the impeller torque is well predicted. However, the model is based on crude assumptions regarding the velocity distribution and hence, it cannot capture the dynamics in the measured torque curve satisfactorily.     

Mechanical properties and prediction of fracture parameters of geopolymer/alkali-activated mortar modified with PVA fiber and nano-SiO2

Properties of fly ash (FA) and metakaolin (MK) based geopolymer/alkali-activated mortar modified with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber and nano-SiO₂, including workability, compressive strength, flexural performance, elastic modulus and fracture property were tested in this study. PVA fiber content varies from 0 to 1.2%. Nano-SiO₂ content is 0 and 1%. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy interfacial systems (ANFIS) method was used to establish the artificial intelligence (AI) model to predict the fracture parameters of geopolymer/alkali-activated mortars. The inputs of ANFIS models include PVA fiber content, nano-SiO₂ content, compressive strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, critical crack mouth opening displacement, crack load and peak load. The outputs of ANFIS model include critical effective crack length, initiation fracture toughness, unstable fracture toughness, and fracture energy. Experiment results showed that PVA fiber addition enhanced the mechanical properties especially the compressive strength and fracture performance, but decreased the workability. 0.8%–1.0% was considered as the optimal content of PVA fiber. Addition of 1% nano-SiO₂ shows a slight improvement on both workability and mechanical properties of the mortar no matter how much fiber is added. Based on the ANFIS algorithm and 42 sets of experimental data, the trained models were proved to have high accuracy with root mean square error (RMSE) under 0.15, mean absolute error (MAE) under 0.01, and coefficient of determination (R²) over 0.85. The ANFIS model established in this study combined the fracture properties with the basic mechanical properties of geopolymer/alkali-activated composites, which can provide a new method to assess the fracture performance of geopolymer/alkali-activated mortars modified with PVA fiber and nano-SiO₂ in the future.     

Carbon/carbon nanocomposites derived from phenolic resin-silica hybrid ceramers: microstructure, physical and morphological properties

Phenolic resin-silica hybrid ceramers were prepared through the sol-gel method. The hybrid ceramers with various inorganic contents were used as matrix precursors to fabricate silica containing carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. The effect of the organic-inorganic mixing ratio on the change of density and porosity was studied. The flexural strength and modulus of the C/C composites was also investigated. Results show that the density of the C/C composites increases with silica content. However, at higher silica content, the density of the composites does not change before and after carbonization. Silica increases the stiffness of the fabricated C/C composites from 2.4×10⁴ to 3.0×10⁴ MPa. However, it does not affect the flexural strength. XRD and Raman spectra studies show that the incorporation of inorganic silica into the phenolic resin influences the growth of ordered carbon structures. From SEM morphological observations, it was concluded that the silica particles are dispersed uniformly on the surfaces of the specimens with some particles located at the pores due to the decomposition of the polymer matrix.     

Determining the collision properties of semi-crystalline and amorphous thermoplastics for DEM simulations of solids transport in an extruder

To improve application of the distinct element method (DEM) to polymer processing applications it was necessary to evaluate the contact mechanics of a selection of commonly used polymers. The contact behaviors of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS) and polycarbonate (PC) were revealed in this paper from a series of impact studies where spherical polymeric particles struck a steel anvil at various angles of incidence and impact velocity. The coefficients of restitution and friction were calculated from high-speed video analysis of individual impacts. The collected data was used to evaluate the relevance of several popular normal contact force-displacement models to determine their suitability for the tested semi-crystalline and glassy polymers. The models considered were those proposed by Walton and Braun [1986. Viscosity, granular-temperature, and stress calculations for shearing assemblies of inelastic, frictional disks. Journal of Rheology 30, 949-980], with constant (WBCE) and variable (WBVE) normal restitution coefficient, and Thornton [1997. Coefficient of restitution for collinear collisions of elastic-perfectly plastic spheres. Journal of Applied Mechanics 64, 383-386], based on elastic-plastic collisions. Comparison of the impact data with DEM simulations using the various contact force-displacement models revealed that the WBVE model provides the best overall agreement with the viscoelastic-fully plastic behavior of HDPE, while the almost purely elastic nature of PC and PS agreed well with all three models studied in this paper. The influence of the normal force-displacement models on the solids transport zone of an extruder was subsequently discussed based on the findings from the impact study.     

Analysis of stress and buoyancy for solids flow in the lower part of a blast furnace

A quasi-stagnant coke bed formed in the lower part of blast furnace, called ‘deadman’, is replaced by new coke over a long renewal interval. The repetition motion, floating of the hearth coke bed due to buoyancy during storage of the molten material and refilling the bottom space due to descending motion of the coke bed during the discharge, is considered to be one of the driving forces for the deadman renewal motion. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the critical condition for the hearth bed to be forced to float up due to buoyancy. Assuming deadman to be a conical body, the stresses acting at the deadman surface are obtained at first extending Walters’ theory (Walters, Chem. Eng. Sci. 28 (1973a) 13; 28 (1973b) 779) to the diverging shaft and the converging annular flow-channel between deadman and furnace wall under gas flow. In the next place, a stress field in an active state of stress is proposed to predict the distribution of solid load developed in the deadman and lower hearth part. The critical storage level of molten liquid for hearth bed floating is then derived from a force balance between the solids load, buoyancy and wall shear stress. It is found that the floating mode depends on the horizontal profile of vertical load at the critical liquid level. In the case of the load profile is uniform across the cross section, the hearth bed would start to float up leaving a solid-free liquid space with horizontally uniform height. In the case of the vertical load is high in most of the cross section, but becomes lower near the wall, two types are possible for bed motion. Thus, a diagram classifying the floating mode into three categories according to the way the hearth bed behaves at the beginning of floating is given.     

Conduction and dissipation in the shearing flow of granular materials modeled as non-Newtonian fluids

After providing a brief review of the constitutive modeling of the stress tensor for granular materials using non-Newtonian fluid models, we study the flow between two horizontal flat plates. It is assumed that the granular media behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid (of the Reiner-Rivlin type); we use the constitutive relation derived by Rajagopal and Massoudi [Rajagopal, K. R. and M. Massoudi, “A Method for measuring material moduli of granular materials: flow in an orthogonal rheometer,” Topical Report, DOE/PETC/TR-90/3, 1990] which can predict the normal stress differences. The lower plate is fixed and heated, and the upper plate (which is at a lower temperature than the lower plate) is set into motion with a constant velocity. The steady fully developed flow and the heat transfer equations are made dimensionless and are solved numerically; the effects of different dimensionless numbers and viscous dissipation are discussed.     

Influence of sodium on the properties of sol-gel derived hydroxyapatite powder and porous scaffolds

This study investigates the properties of sol-gel derived sodium (Na)-doped hydroxyapatite (HA) powder. Different amounts of Na (1, 5, 10 and 15 mol%) were prepared and the sintered bodies were characterized to determine the current phases, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that a phase pure HA of crystallite sizes, which varied from 35 nm to 65 nm, was obtained in the synthesized powder after calcining from 500 °C to 1000 °C. Scanning electron microscopy examination shows evidence of larger particle sizes, particularly in samples that contain higher amounts of Na concentration. The resultant powders were subsequently used to prepare porous NA-doped HA bodies through a polymeric sponge method. The addition of 5% Na resulted in a porous body with 27% porosity and was beneficial in enhancing the compressive strength of HA 17-fold compared with undoped HA. The prepared scaffold also shows suitable pore interconnectivity with pore sizes that vary between 100 and 300 µm which is suitable for use as porous bone substitutes.     

Shape and “gap” effects on the behavior of variably confined concrete

Factors affecting the behavior of variably confined concrete are presented. The effect of debonding the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) jacket to the concrete substrate and providing a gap between the concrete and confining jacket is investigated. A second parameter—the shape of the cross section—is also investigated. An experimental program involving the compression testing of standard cylinders and similarly sized square specimens having external FRP jackets providing passive confinement is presented. Factors affecting jacket efficiency and the appropriateness of factors accounting for specimen shape are determined experimentally and discussed.The provision of a gap affected the axial stress at which the confining jacket was engaged, resulting in a reduced maximum attainable concrete strength. The jacket efficiency was not affected by the provision of the gap. The shape of the specimens was observed to affect the level of confinement generated. Square specimens exhibit lower confinement levels than circular specimens having the same jacket.