Average cluster sizes and cluster size distributions of superfine nickel particles in light media

Effects of shear rates on average cluster sizes (ACSs) and cluster size distributions (CSDs) in uni- and bi-systems of partly charged superfine nickel particles were investigated by Brownian dynamics, and clustering properties in these systems were compared with those in non-polar systems. The results show that the ACSs in bi-polar systems are larger than those in the non-polar systems. In uni-polar systems the behavior of clustering property differs: at the lower ionic concentration (10%), repulsive force is not strong enough to break clusters, but may greatly weaken them. The clusters are eventually cracked into smaller ones only when concentration of uni-polar charged particles is large enough. In this work, the ionic concentration is 20%. The relationship between ACS and shear rates follows power law in a exponent range of 0.176–0.276. This range is in a good agreement with the range of experimental data, but it is biased towards the lower limit slightly. Foundation item: Projects(50474037, 50874087) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Project (BK2006078) supported by the Natural Scientific Funds of Jiangsu Province, China