Particle electrification and levitation in a continuous particle feed and dispersion system with vibration and external electric fields

Electrification and levitation of particles in a continuous particle feed and dispersion system have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. This system consisted of a vibrator and inclined parallel electrodes. A mesh and a vibrating plate were used for the upper and lower electrodes, respectively. A dc voltage was applied to one of the electrodes and the other electrode was grounded. Particles fed to the lower electrode were charged by induction and levitated upward by the Coulomb forces. When the applied voltage was high enough, the particles passed through the mesh electrode. The charge of the particles was measured with a Faraday cup, and the particle behavior was observed with a high-speed microscope camera. The particle charges were also analyzed from experimentally obtained particle trajectories and numerically calculated electric fields. Finally, the conditions for the effective levitation and dispersion of the charged particles and their mechanisms were studied and have been described in detail.     

Development of a method for estimating particles mixing curves in short DEM simulation time

A new method for estimating particles mixing curves by simulating the particles behavior for a short period of time using discrete element method (DEM) was developed. The mixing curve is the time variation of the mixing degree, and can be divided into the following two stages: one is the mixing degree increasing stage, and the other is the mixing degree stagnation stage. The mixing curves could be estimated from time variations of mixing and de-mixing rates by assuming that the stagnation occurs when the mixing and de-mixing are balanced. Assuming the mixing and de-mixing rates are represented by the first-order exponential functions, each rate was estimated by the simulations of particles behavior for a short period of time. The estimated mixing curves agree with experimental ones and the proposed estimation method reduced the calculation time to approximately one-fifth of the conventional one that does not use a method to reduce the mixing time. Therefore, the proposed estimation method could estimate the mixing curve in a short period of time.     

Quantitative analysis of agglomerates levitated from particle layers in a strong electric field

The electrification, agglomeration, and levitation of particles in a strong electric field were analyzed experimentally and theoretically. Particle layers of glass, alumina, and ferrite were formed on a plate electrode and an external voltage was applied. Microscopic observations of the agglomerates levitated from the particle layers revealed that the number of primary particles constituting an agglomerate is affected by particle diameter and electrical resistance, but not by the applied electric field. The electric field distributions in the system were calculated by considering the charges and geometries of the agglomerates formed on the particle layers. The charges of the agglomerates were obtained experimentally. All forces acting on the agglomerates (i.e., gravitational forces, Coulomb forces, interaction forces between polarized particles, image forces, and gradient forces) were analyzed under different conditions, including various electric field distributions and charges of agglomerates. Furthermore, the critical conditions for the levitation of the agglomerates were evaluated using a force balance.     

Numerical study of the mixing process of binary-density particles in a bladed mixer

Discrete element method (DEM) simulations of binary mixing of particles with different densities were conducted to study the influence of density ratio, blade speed, and filling level on the particle dynamics and mixing performance in a bladed mixer. Four particles with different densities at different locations were tagged to discuss the influence of three factors on the particle trajectory and velocity field in the mixer. A method based on cubic polynomial fitting of relative standard deviation was used to determine the critical revolution during the mixing process. It was found that the non-dimensional tangential velocity decreases with the increase of the blade speed and filling level, the fluctuation of vertical velocity increases with the radial location, blade speed, and filling level, and it is more pronounced than the fluctuation of tangential and radial velocity during the mixing process. Results obtained indicate that the mixing performance of particles with different density increases with the decrease of density ratio and filling level, while it increases with the increase of blade speed.     

A model for computing the trajectories of the conducting particles from waste printed circuit boards in corona electrostatic separators

A model for computing the trajectory of conducting particle from waste printed circuit board (PCB) scraps in corona electrostatic separator is established. Using analytical expression for computing non-uniformity of the electric field in the active zone of the separator and the differential method were used for computing the trajectories of conducting particles in the air, after detachment. The result shows that the trajectory of conducting particle can be computed under various initial parameters (R, r, L, alpha, U, n; rho, r0) by the computing model and the computing results have a good agreement with the actual separating process. This model offers a possible for designing the new corona electrostatic separator.     

A novel mixing method for powder metallurgy copper-carbon nanotube composites

In this study, copper matrix composite materials with different ratios of carbon nanotubes were produced. The biggest problem faced in the production of carbon nanotube-reinforced composites is that carbon nanotubes do not distribute homogeneously in the matrix. A novel mixing technique was applied to overcome this problem. Hot pressing was used in sample production. A second high-pressure densification process was applied following the hot pressing process for enhancing the properties. The properties of both the hot-pressed specimens and the specimens to which a second high-pressure densification process was applied were characterized with the density measurements, microstructure examinations, and mechanical tests. The microstructure examinations showed that carbon nanotubes could be distributed homogeneously in the copper matrix with the mixing process applied. It was found out that the high-pressure densification process applied following the hot-pressing process increased the relative density and thus, all mechanical properties.     

Droplet breakup in electrostatic spray based on multiple physical fields

A droplet breakup model was proposed for simulating electrostatic spray in multiple physical fields. The static electricity, laminar flow and droplet atomization in COMSOL Multiphysics were coupled completely, and a two-dimensional simulation model was established. The process of droplet breakup and movement of electrostatic spray was revealed under the action of electric field, gravity field and air field. The electric field distribution under the needle ring electrode configuration was studied. The effects of different electrostatic voltage, needle ring distance and ring electrode diameter on droplet breakup characteristics, distribution uniformity and charge characteristics were analyzed. When the electrostatic voltage is -6 ～ -7 kV, the needle ring distance is 4 mm, and the ring electrode diameter is 30 mm, the electrostatic spray effect is better, and the density standard deviation is as low as 0.04528 /mm², 0.0559 /mm² and 0.06016 /mm², respectively. Electrostatic spray has the characteristics of refining droplets, improving the uniformity of droplets distribution and controlling spray morphology, which provides a strong basis for the application of electrostatic spray in surface film preparation, dust removal, fuel injection and other practical engineering fields.     

Discrete element simulation for mixing performances and power consumption in a twin-blade planetary mixer with non-cohesive particles

The present study aims to characterize the mixing performances and power consumption of a twin-blade planetary mixer with non-cohesive particles through the discrete element method (DEM). A DEM model used for simulating the particle flow and mixing kinetics of the mixer was experimentally verified. The particle velocity and mixing mechanism are elaborated quantitatively, indicating that particle mixing is realized under the combined actions of radial, circumferential and vertical circulations, and some local collisions and mergers. Increasing the absolute speed N and the speed ratio i promotes the radial circulation, while the tangential and vertical circulations are strengthened with the increase of N and the decrease of i. The mixing time required for the homogeneous state decreases, and the power consumption increases as N increases and i decreases. Thus, increasing N and decreasing i can improve the mixing performance but require more energy to reach the homogeneous state. Also, the mixing performance shows a strong correlation with the swept volume of blades, which proves that the dominant mixing mechanism of the mixer is convection.     

Large-scale GPU based DEM modeling of mixing using irregularly shaped particles

Mixing of particulate systems is an important process to achieve uniformity, in particular pharmaceutical processes that requires the same amount of active ingredient per tablet. Several mixing processes exist, this study is concerned with mechanical mixing of crystalline particles using a four-blade mixer. Although numerical investigations of mixing using four-blades have been conducted, the simplification of particle shape to spherical or rounded superquadric particle systems is universal across these studies. Consequently, we quantify the effect of particle shape, that include round shapes and sharp edged polyhedral shapes, on the mixing kinematics (Lacey Mixing Index bounded by 0 and 1) that include radial and axial mixing as well as the inter-particle force chain network in a numerical study. We consider six 100 000 particles systems that include spheres, cubes, scaled hexagonal prism, bilunabirotunda, truncated tetrahedra, and a mixed particle system. This is in addition to two six million particle systems consisting of sphere and truncated tetrahedra particles that we can simulate within a realistic time frame due to GPU computing. We found that spherical particles mixed the fastest with Lacey mixing indices of up to 0.9, while polyhedral shaped particle systems mixing indexes varied between 0.65 and 0.87, for the same mixing times. In general, to obtain a similar mixing index (of 0.7), polyhedral shaped particle systems needed to be mixed for 50% longer than a spherical particle system which is concerning given the predominant use of spherical particles in mixing studies.     

Developments in the tools for the investigation of mixing in particulate systems – A review

Mixing of powders and granular materials of different functions and/or properties is frequently encountered by engineers and scientists. Nevertheless, the guidelines for the selections of particle mixers are still not fully developed and predictions of the mixture quality after mixing operations are still not possible. These are largely due to the fact that the tools for particle mixing studies are far from well developed. In the last decades, advances in experimental and computational methods have brought lights to better particle mixer design and operation. This paper reviews the tools for the investigation of mixing in particulate systems.     

微裂纹扩展的非共线超声混频定位研究

金属结构在早期服役过程中易出现微小裂纹,对早期微小裂纹扩展方向的检测与跟踪对避免结构失效而导致的突发性灾难具有重要的现实意义。基于非共线超声混频方法,开展金属材料微裂纹扩展的定位与表征研究。研究中选择两列横波相互作用产生混频纵波的非共线混频模式,通过实验测量验证了其混频效应和信号的传播性。选用铝合金7075-T6中预制的垂直和倾斜微裂纹为研究对象,提取每个测量点的超声混频非线性参数并进行归一化处理绘制成扫查成像图,从而表征微裂纹的长度与扩展方向。最后,将扫查成像图与光学显微镜的金相观察结果进行对比分析。研究表明,超声混频方法能够有效定位和跟踪铝合金材料中不同扩展方向的微裂纹,可为金属结构中微裂纹扩展提供检测方法。     

A modelling and verification approach for soybean seed particles using the discrete element method

To build a discrete element method (DEM) model of soybean seed particles, the shape and size of soybean seed particles were measured and analysed. The results showed that the shape of a soybean seed particle could be approximated to an ellipsoid and that the dispersity in size could be approximated by a normal distribution. Additionally, a certain functional relationship between the primary dimension and secondary dimensions was determined. On this basis, an approach for modelling soybean seed particles based on the multi-sphere (MS) method was proposed. The soybean seed particle was simplified to an ellipsoid with the averaged size of one hundred randomly selected soybean seeds. The model of a single soybean seed particle was built by filling spheres within the ellipsoid. For modelling soybean seed assembly, the primary dimension was generated according to the normal distribution, and the other secondary dimensions were calculated based on their relationships with the primary dimension. In this way, the model of soybean seed assembly with different sizes and distributions was built. In this paper, four varieties of soybean seed were used. By comparing the simulated results and experimental results both in piling tests and “self-flow screening” tests, when the number of filling spheres was five, the simulated results were close to those obtained experimentally. Therefore, the feasibility and validity of the modelling method for soybean seed particles that we proposed were verified. Finally, an application case was employed to show how to use the soybean seed particle model and the discrete element method to analyse the discharging process of a silo.     

基于FPGA模拟片上多核处理器的新方法

为了解决使用现场可编程门阵列（FPGA）进行大规模片上多核处理器模拟的容量限制难题,提出了一种新颖的FPGA模拟方法。该方法通过混合真实的处理器核与伪造的处理器核,使用1个或2个FPGA即可模拟整个片上多核处理器,而且可以有效克服FPGA的容量限制问题,同时又不过多损害对多核处理器行为特征的有效模拟。用此方法实现了周期精确的全芯片模拟,并使用流片后的片上多核处理器芯片对此模拟方法进行了有效性验证。实验很容易地实现了50MHz以上的模拟速度,比基于相同设计的软件仿真快10万倍以上。模拟速度的大幅度提升,使得可以启动未经修改的Linux操作系统和运行完整的多用户SPEC CPU2006 train测试集。这种混合真实处理器核与伪造处理器核的模拟方法为片上多核处理器的功能验证和性能评估提供了一种简单高效的途径。     

近表面疲劳裂纹的水浸式非共线横波混频检测方法研究

针对近表面疲劳裂纹检测问题,开展了水浸式非共线横波混频检测方法研究。在材料非线性、水/试件界面和疲劳裂纹不同非线性源情况下,分析相互作用角和频率比对混频非线性效应的影响规律。在此基础上,对有无近表面疲劳裂纹试件沿着深度方向进行扫查检测。结果表明,在不同非线性源情况下,混频特征图具有显著差异,根据混频特征图中和频纵波峰值及其对应相互作用角可对试件近表面疲劳裂纹进行检测;水/试件界面对近表面疲劳裂纹非共线横波混频检测具有一定影响,去参考检测方法可显著降低水/试件界面的影响,实现对近表面疲劳裂纹的有效检测。     

A coupled boundary/finite element method for the computation of magnetically and electrostatically levitated droplet shapes

A coupled finite element and boundary element method is developed to predict the magnetic vector and scalar potential distributions in the droplets levitated in an alternating magnetic or electrostatic field. The computational algorithm entails the application of boundary elements in the region of free space and finite elements in the droplet region, the two being coupled along the droplet–air interface. The coupled boundary and finite element scheme is further integrated with a WRM‐based algorithm to predict the free surface deformation of magnetically and electrostatically levitated droplets. Several corner treatments for the boundary and finite element coupling and their implications to free surface calculations are discussed. Detailed formulation and numerical implementation are given. Numerical results are compared with available analytical solutions whenever available. A selection of computed results is presented for mag‐ netically or electrostatically levitated droplets under both terrestrial and microgravity conditions. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling brittle impact failure of disc particles using material point method

Understanding the impact failure of particles made of brittle materials such as glasses, ceramics and rocks is an important issue for many engineering applications. During the impact, a solid particle is turned into a discrete assembly of many fragments through the development of multiple cracks. The finite element method is fundamentally ill-equipped to model this transition. Recently a so-called material point method (MPM) has been used to study a wide range of problems of material and structural failures. In this paper we propose a new material point model for the brittle failure which incorporates a statistical failure criterion. The capability of the method for modelling multiple cracks is demonstrated using disc particles. Three impact failure patterns observed experimentally are captured by the model: Hertzian ring cracks, meridian cracks, and multi-fragment cracks. Detailed stress analysis is carried out to interpret the experimental observations. In particular it is shown that the experimentally observed dependence of a threshold velocity for the initiation of meridian cracks on the particle size can be explained by the proposed model. The material point based scheme requires a relatively modest programming effort and avoids node splitting which makes it very attractive over the traditional finite element method.     

Effect of stacking method of fillers on the electrostatic separation performance of FCC slurry

The stacking method of the fillers is an important factor that affects the removal efficiency of the catalyst particles in the fluid catalytic cracking slurry (FCCS). This study proposed the parameter η, which can characterize the adsorption capacity of the separation unit. The variation of η of the separation unit under different arrangement angles were investigated by numerical simulation and theoretical calculation respectively, thus verifying the feasibility of η. In addition, the separation efficiency of four different stacking methods was studied by numerical simulation and experiment research. The research results showed that η was related to the angle between the fillers and the direction of the electric field and the space utilization of the separation unit, and the adsorption capacity of fcc and hcp stacking models were the same and best. This research could be used to judge the separation efficiency of electrostatic separators with different stacking methods of fillers.     

Surface morphology control of zirconia thin films prepared using novel photochromic molecules

A new photochromic ZrO₂ precursor solution was prepared using zirconium tetra-n-butoxide, 4-(phenylazo)benzoic acid and ethyleneglycol monomethylether. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation has identified that the structure of the synthesized precursor molecule changed by UV irradiation. Four types of thin films were prepared using the ZrO₂ precursor solution with and without UV irradiation and applying an electric field. It was found that the surface morphology of thin films changed by applying UV irradiation to the precursor solution and an electric field.     

A method for dispersing dry nano-sized particles in a liquid using carrier particles

A method for dispersing dry particles in a liquid is described. The method involves coating large carrier particles with fine particles. When two types of particles having different sizes are mixed in dry conditions, the particles adhere to one another, and the large particles become coated with small particles. When the large core particles are coated with a mono-layer of small particles, further agglomeration is inhibited. Because the single small particles generated by the disruption adhere to the core particles, we presumed that, if the small particles that are adhered to large particles could be separated from the large particles by a sonication in a liquid, the dry fine particles could be dispersed in a liquid.The dispersion experiments conducted using spherical silica particles having a count median diameter D_p50 of 74 nm as small particles and spherical glass beads as large particles. In this situation, the large particles carry the small particles from a dry condition into a liquid. We refer to the large particles as carrier particles. The experiments revealed that the proposed dispersion procedure results in a superior product, compared to sonication only. The effect of carrier size on dispersion performance is also investigated. The findings indicate and an optimum carrier size exists. Observations of the carrier particle surfaces after dry mixing indicate that the optimum condition is the condition at which a mono-layer of Silica particles is formed.