内置管束布置对换热器内固体颗粒流动的影响

换热器内设的水平换热管束是影响换热器内固体颗粒流动均匀性的重要因素,基于离散单元法构建了内置横管式固体颗粒换热器的流动计算模型,研究了管束排列方式和水平管间距对换热器内固体颗粒流动的影响。结果表明,颗粒流过错排管束的均匀性优于顺排管束,颗粒层的形变和停留时间波动性均较小,颗粒流动不均匀度为0.00721,比顺排管束的减少了42.3%,错排管束的颗粒停留时间标准偏差为0.029,比顺排管束的减少了39.1%。当颗粒流过错排管束时,随着水平管间距的减小,颗粒层的形变和停留时间波动性均增大,颗粒流动均匀性显著恶化,颗粒流动不均匀度由0.00721增大到0.00996,增大38.1%,颗粒停留时间标准偏差由0.029增大到0.039,增大33.8%,剪切区内颗粒速度差异增大,颗粒平均速度梯度由5.97×10^-4s^-1增大到7.85×10^-4s^-1,增大了31.4%。     

颗粒球形度与Zingg指数对流化床燃烧过程影响的研究

流化床燃烧理论对颗粒形貌因素的考虑是引入球形度的概念,但球形度不能区别出不同的颗粒形态.本研究比较了描述颗粒形貌的球形度与Zingg指数,认为Zingg指数可以很好的区分出颗粒的片状和棒状形态.通过冷态流化实验发现非球形颗粒临界流化速度要小于相同直径下的球形颗粒,但流化质量较差.非球形颗粒比球形颗粒床面消失滞后,出现流化延迟现象.根据非球形颗粒流化床的床层特点,定义流化惰性系数来评价颗粒的流化质量,片状颗粒的流化惰性系数与Zingg指数有较好的拟合关系,可以使用惰性系数对片状颗粒的临界流化速度进行修正.     

喷雾流化床颗粒包衣的研究进展

对近年来喷雾流化床颗粒包衣过程的主要试验研究成果以及颗粒包衣的成长动力学模型的研究进展进行了综述。对影响喷雾流化床颗粒包衣过程的主要因素：流化气速度、流化气温度与湿度以及喷雾速率和雾滴大小的作用机理进行了分析，并对今后的研究方向作了展望。     

椭球形片剂薄膜包衣均匀性工艺研究

目的：对影响椭球形片剂片间增重的关键包衣工艺参数进行了研究。方法：研究考察了包衣工艺的包衣时间、包衣锅转速和喷雾速率等关键参数对片间包衣均匀性的影响。结果：包衣工艺中包衣时间、包衣锅转速和喷雾速率对椭球形片剂的片间包衣增重均匀性有较为显著的影响。结论：选择较长包衣时间和低喷雾速率,适度提高包衣锅转速能够得到整体片间包衣增重均匀的椭球形片剂。     

内置螺旋挡板流化床颗粒停留时间分布

采用脉冲示踪法在内置螺旋挡板冷态鼓泡流化床上研究了螺旋挡板、加料速率、流化风速、颗粒粒径和床料高度对颗粒在流化床内停留时间分布的影响. 结果表明,颗粒停留时间的无量纲方差从无螺旋挡板时的0.558减小到有螺旋挡板时的0.085,螺旋挡板可有效抑制颗粒返混,增大颗粒运动的平推流趋势;加料速率增大为约2倍时,停留时间减小为约50%,流动更趋向于平推流;床料高度增加,颗粒返混加剧,颗粒平均停留时间及无量纲方差均增大,颗粒运动向全混流靠近;随流化风速增大,颗粒平均停留时间变长;实验范围内,颗粒粒径对颗粒停留时间分布影响不大.     

基于颗粒动力学理论的搅拌器中固液流动的数值模拟

在欧拉双流体模型基础上引入颗粒动力学理论(KTGF),对带挡板圆盘涡桨式搅拌器内的固液两相流动进行数值模拟。结果表明,搅拌器底部颗粒温度分布与固相浓度分布趋势吻合,转速低于600 r/min时,槽底会形成明显的颗粒沉积,转速从600 r/min增至1500 r/min,堆积区向轴中心收缩,基于颗粒动力学理论可以合理解释挡板及叶轮转速对固相浓度分布的影响。随叶轮转速增大,搅拌器内固液两相湍流运动加剧,颗粒温度、湍动能及轴向速度增加,颗粒分布更均匀,但达到完全悬浮状态后颗粒温度趋于稳定。搅拌器底部和挡板处颗粒堆积导致了局部颗粒浓度增加及颗粒平均自由行程减少,颗粒温度反而降低;同时挡板布置使搅拌器内形成了双循环回路,加强了流体的湍流程度,增强了湍动能,但导致颗粒在挡板处积聚,不利于固相在挡板处均匀分布。     

环形截面提升管内颗粒的运动行为

采用PDPA(phase Doppler particle analyzer system)及磷光颗粒示踪技术对环形截面提升管中颗粒的运动行为进行了研究。与传统提升管相比，环形截面提升管中颗粒速度分布的均匀性有所改善，其最高速度与最低速度之差变小。环形截面提升管最大速度值出现在相对径向位置φ=0.3-0．4处。与传统提升管相似，环形截面提升管内颗粒的轴向返混较严重，停留时间分布曲线存在较明显的拖尾，其中颗粒的轴向Peclet数与传统提升管也处于同一数量级范围。提升管床结构的改变并未显著改变其中气固流动的微观相结构，稀相与密相颗粒团微观两相仍然存在，这种微观相结构是造成颗粒严重返混的决定性原因：稀相中的颗粒与密相颗粒团中的颗粒分别造成了颗粒停留时间分布曲线的前峰与拖尾峰。     

移动床中固体颗粒"运动模型"的修正

实验研究了移动床内的固体颗粒流动状况,考查了流速、颗粒特性和流场的几何形状对移动床内固体流动特性的影响.发现颗粒的质量流速对移动床内颗粒流动区域的形状没有影响,在颗粒流动的死区内添加挡板也不改变颗粒流动区域的形状,而颗粒的休止角的大小对颗粒流动区域的形状影响较大.随着颗粒休止角度增大,流动区域变陡,死区变大.Nedderman提出的颗粒“运动模型”可以很好地模拟料仓中心卸料过程中固体颗粒的流动特性和预测料仓内颗粒的速度分布,但很难准确预测料仓偏心卸料时周边的速率分布,无法反映料仓壁面的影响.通过Lie变换群得到“运动模型”的解析解,发现x＝0时颗粒的垂直速度达到最大值,由此在确定颗粒最大速度分布线的基础上移动坐标使该线上x值均为0,对“运动模型”进行了修正,可以反映壁面对颗粒运动的影响,所得计算结果与实验测定吻合得很好.     

立式粉体干燥器中不同粒径湿颗粒流动特性研究

为了研究立式粉体干燥器内不同粒径聚甲醛颗粒流动特性，采用CFD-DEM模型耦合液桥力模块的方法，分析了含水率和颗粒粒径对聚甲醛颗粒流动特性的影响，并验证了该分析方法的正确性。研究结果表明：基于量纲分析法，结合已有实验数据拟合得出平均颗粒速度的经验关联式，计算值与实验值的最大误差为25.13%，可以较好地描述干燥单元内的平均颗粒速度变化。截面平均固含率随着颗粒直径的增大而降低，干燥单元内固含率在轴向和径向分布上分别呈现“上浓下稀”、“边壁高近流体低”的特点。当颗粒直径d_p<2 mm且含水率V_lb≥0.1%时，容易造成干燥单元入口堵塞，并且干燥单元内固含率剧减。截面平均颗粒速度随着轴向高度和颗粒直径的增大而增大，从边壁区到近流体区域的局部颗粒速度逐渐减小。当颗粒直径相同时，湿颗粒比干颗粒的颗粒速度小；当颗粒直径超过临界值2 mm时，随着含水率的增高，颗粒速度略微减小，颗粒平均停留时间和固含率总体上有所增加。     

FCC提升管反应器中颗粒聚团对裂化反应的影响

在对气固流动体系颗粒聚团实验现象分析的基础上,以减压馏分油裂化反应为例,对反应器中最常见的球形和椭球形聚团上的流动、传热和反应过程进行了模拟计算,得到了聚团内外油气和催化剂颗粒的速度分布、温度分布、浓度分布以及反应速率分布。研究结果表明,催化剂颗粒聚团的存在阻碍了油气与催化剂颗粒的充分接触,进而造成系统内速度和温度的不均匀分布,影响了裂化反应的发生,使得有颗粒聚团时的一次反应速率明显低于无聚团时的反应速率,颗粒聚团显著影响了油气在颗粒上的反应时间,最终导致气体和焦炭产率升高,对裂化反应产品收率分布十分不利。     

Inter-tablet coating variability: Residence times in a horizontal pan coater

This paper investigates inter-tablet coating variability, specifically, tablet residence times within the spray zone. Discrete element method computer simulations, experiments, and analytical investigations are performed to measure the residence time per pass, the circulation time, and appearance frequency of spherical shaped tablets for a range of pan speeds and tablet loads. In addition, the fractional residence time, defined as the ratio of time spent by a tablet in the spray zone to the total coating time, is measured. The average fractional residence time (averaged over all the tablets in the bed) is found to be equal to the ratio of the time-averaged number of tablets exposed to the spray to the total number of tablets in the pan, a result that is consistent with analyses. The average fractional residence time is observed to be independent of pan speed and total coating time. Furthermore, the fractional residence time is shown to be related to the residence time per pass and circulation time per pass. Appearance frequency is defined as the number of appearances a tablet makes in the spray zone per pan rotation. Simulations and analyses show that appearance frequency decreases with increasing pan speed. Circulation time per pass for a tablet is defined as the average time between successive appearances in the spray zone and residence time per pass is defined as the average time spent in the spray zone per pass. These various measures are all related, but from the standpoint of developing an analytical model for coating variability, fractional residence time is a more useful and intuitive parameter as it determines the fraction of total run time that a tablet spends in the spray. This paper concentrates on determining average fractional residence times and residence time per pass, while the inter-tablet variability is more closely related to the standard deviation of the fractional residence time.     

Inter-tablet coating variability: Tablet residence time variability

This paper investigates inter-tablet coating variability, specifically, the variability of tablet residence times within the spray zone of a horizontal coating pan. Results from experiments, discrete element method (DEM) computer simulations, and an analytical model developed to describe the coating mass distribution are presented.The simulations indicate that the coefficient of variation of tablet residence times, and subsequently, of coating mass, decreases with time following a power law relation. The theoretical model demonstrates that the coefficient of variation of residence time for a randomly mixed tablet bed is inversely proportional to the square root of the number of coating “trials”. DEM simulations show that during each pan revolution, tablets in the spray zone remain in a quasi-segregated state from tablets located outside the spray zone for some time period termed Δt_seg. Increasing the pan's Froude number, the spray zone aspect ratio, and the tablet-tablet and tablet-pan friction coefficient all act to decrease Δt_seg, leading to more uniform residence times and less inter-tablet coating variability for a given operating time. The relationship between Δt_seg and tablet load is more complex due changes in bed dynamics. In addition to the variability studies, a model is developed that relates coating fraction, effective mass flow rate, Δt_seg, and the desired coating mass to the allowable fraction of tablets with a coating mass lying outside of a specified range of coating masses.     

DEM simulation of continuous tablet coating: Effects of tablet shape and fill level on inter-tablet coating variability

Tablet coating is a common pharmaceutical technique of applying a thin polymer-based film to a tablet or a granule containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Inter- and intra-tablet variability of film coating is a critical issue in the production of solid oral dosage forms. In fact, inhomogeneity in the coating thickness can lead to significant variations in the delivery rate of active pharmaceutical ingredients and compromise the functional attributes of the tablet film. Although attempts have been made to use numerical approaches to analyze this complex problem, at present the uniformity of coating thickness is difficult to predict without expensive experimental work.The aim of this work is to analyze and understand the effects of tablet form and fill volume on the intra-tablet coating variability in a semi-continuous coating device. To this end, the Discrete Element Method was used to numerically reproduce the tablet motion inside a chamber of the coating pan. First, the material attributes of a sample placebo tablet were experimentally quantified in detail. Thereafter, three different tablet shapes, namely bi-convex, oval, and round, were modeled by means of the “glued spheres” method. The effect of three different fill volumes was then analyzed in terms of RT of the tablets under the coating spray, leading to a quantification of the intra-tablet coating variability for each particle shape. A detailed analysis of the tablets' velocities, both translational and rotational, on top of the tablet bed is presented. These results help to understand the dynamical behavior of the tablets under a spray gun that is essential for a satisfactory intra-tablet coating homogeneity. Finally, the various behaviors observed during the numerical simulations were addressed through a detailed analysis of the tablets' flow on the bed in terms of mean velocities and granular temperatures. The aim of this work is to demonstrate how a numerical simulation may be used for the development and design of continuous pharmaceutical tablet coating processes.     

非球形颗粒在矩形料斗中的流动特性(英文)

Flow behaviors of four kinds of granular particles (i.e. sphere, ellipsoid, hexahedron and binary mixture of sphere and hexahedron) in rectangular hoppers were experimentally studied. The effects of granular shape and hopper structure on flow pattern, discharge fraction, mean particle residence time and tracer concentration distribution were tested based on the visual observation and particle tracer technique. The results show that particle shape affects significantly the flow pattern. The flow patterns of sphere, ellipsoid and binary mixture are all parabolic shape, and the flow pattern shows no significant difference with the change of wedge angle. The flowing zone becomes more sharp-angled with the increasing outlet size. The flow pattern of hexahedron is featured with straight lines. The discharge rates are in increasing order from hexahedron, sphere, binary mixture to ellipsoid. The discharge rate also increases with the wedge angle and outlet size. The mean particle residence time becomes shorter when the outlet size increases. The difference of mean particle residence time between the maximum and minimum values decreases as the wedge angle increases. The residence time of hexahedron is the shortest. The tracer concentration distribution of hexahedron at any height is more uniform than that of binary mixture. The tracer concentration of sphere in the middle is lower than that near the wall, and the contrary tendency is found for ellipsoid particles.     

Mixing–segregation phenomena of binary system in a fluidized bed

A study on mixing–segregation phenomena in a gas fluidized bed of binary density system was performed by analysis of the residence time distribution and mixing degree. The effect of particle mixing on the residence time distribution and solid mixing was studied in a binary particle system with different densities. Residence time distribution curve and mean residence time of each particle were measured according to the flotsam particle size, mixing ratio and gas velocity in a gas fluidized bed (0.109 m I.D., 1.8 m height). The characteristics of residence time distribution and the deviation of mean residence time of each particle are consistent with previous mixing index based on the axial concentration of jetsam. From this study, mixing index of binary particle system with different densities should be considered by not only axial concentration distribution of jetsam particle but also characteristics of residence time distribution. This result suggests that the solid movement by fluidization gas is more important than solid axial dispersion.     

Experimental Study on Time Features of Particle Motion in Rotating Drums

Rotating drums are widely used in pharmaceutical industry to coat tablets. The motion of the tablet particle is one of the most important factors affecting coating uniformity. The purpose of the research is to experimentally investigate two important time variables for the coating process, residence time and turnover time, and their dependence on operating parameters (rotation speed and filling degree of the drum). The average residence time was found to decrease with increasing rotation speed and filling degree. The average turnover time was observed to increase approximately linearly with the inverse of the drum speed, but was found to be independent of the filling degree. A dimensionless time variable, the fractional residence time, i.e., the residence time divided by the turnover time, was introduced. Analysis showed that the fractional residence time could be a good indicator of coating uniformity. Results of the present work provide useful information for theoretical modeling which may ultimately serve as a tool for coating optimization.     

Intra-tablet coating variability for several pharmaceutical tablet shapes

A combined discrete element method (DEM)–Monte Carlo simulation algorithm is used to investigate intra-tablet coating thickness variability for six pharmaceutical tablet shapes. The DEM simulations are used to collect tablet orientations when the tablets enter a specified spray zone. The Monte Carlo simulations are used to “coat” the tablets assuming a uniform spray and orientations chosen randomly from the distribution generated by the DEM simulations. The simulations demonstrate that for the non-spherical tablet shapes investigated here, the coating thickness variability, defined using a coefficient of variation, decreases with the square root of the number of coating trials, then approaches an asymptotic value. The greater the degree of a tablet's preferred orientation, the larger the asymptotic coefficient of variation. In addition, the number of trials required to reach this asymptote decreases for larger asymptotic values. These findings are consistent with theoretical analyses. For the range of parameters investigated, increasing the pan speed decreases the asymptotic coefficient of variation, but increasing the fill level had no consistent effect. The asymptotic coefficients of variation did not correlate with tablet sphericity, aspect ratio, or band-to-tablet area ratio, but the results suggest that a measure of a tablet's symmetry may provide better results. Modifying the angle of the coating spray so that a larger portion of the band is coated during each coating trial results in smaller asymptotic coefficients of variation than when the spray is oriented normal to the tablet bed surface. In addition, the relative order of the tablets with the smallest asymptotic coefficients of variation changes when the spray orientation is changed.     

Effect of speed, loading and spray pattern on coating variability in a pan coater

A computational study using the discrete element method was performed to study the effect of pan speed, fill level and the design of the spray pattern on the coating variability of tablets coated in a rotating pan. The method simulates the movement of tablets in the pan and calculates the residence time of each tablet inside the spray zone, which is directly related to the amount of coating received by the tablet. The computational method was experimentally validated using a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy based analytical method. The simulations showed that the axial mixing was the most critical parameter affecting the coating variability. Although axial mixing was found to be better at higher pan speed, it did not affect the coating variability significantly. Lower variability was obtained when a 100% fill level was used as compared to 67% fill. Four spray patterns were used, two idealized (full surface spray and a symmetric band spray) and two realistic (5-ellipse and 5-circular spray guns). The full and band spray showed similar results while the ellipse and circular patterns were similar to each other (and much worse than the other two patterns) at all speeds and fill levels.     

Study of tablet-coating parameters for a pan coater through video imaging and Monte Carlo simulation

The movement of tablets in a pan coater and the exposure of different surfaces of tablets for deposition of coatings by spray-coating have been studied by video imaging and Monte Carlo simulation techniques. A representative variety of tablets of different shapes and sizes were used at different pan loads and at various pan speeds. A single “tracer” tablet was used to track the motion of tablets and coating variables such as circulation time, surface time, projected surface area and surface velocity of a tablet were determined from the video imaging experiments. The coating uniformity is described in terms of the coating variation from tablet to tablet CV(tt) and a new parameter CV(st) the coating variation on a single tablet. The effect of shape of tablets on coating uniformity was analyzed by introducing a “sphericity” of tablet (φ_s) into the CV models. The methodology, new models and the analysis developed here incorporating the additional parameters will help users to optimize the coating process in pan-coating operations.     

Mixing and residence time distribution in ultrasonic microreactors

Intensification of liquid mixing was investigated in domestic fabricated ultrasonic microreactors. Under the ultrasonic field, cavitation bubbles were generated, which undergo vigorous translational motion and surface oscillation with different modes (volume, shape oscillation, and transient collapse). These cavitation phenomena induce intensive convective mixing and reduce the mixing time from 24–32 s to 0.2–1.0 s. The mixing performance decreases with the channel size, due to the weaker cavitation activity in smaller channel. The energy efficiency is comparable to that of the conventional T‐type and higher than the Y‐type and Caterpillar microreactors. Residence time distribution was also measured by a stimulus‐response experiment and analyzed with axial dispersion model. Axial dispersion was significantly reduced by the ultrasound‐induced radial mixing, leading to the increasing of Bo number with ultrasound power. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 1404–1418, 2017