Numerical simulation of tetrahedral particle mixing and motion in rotating drums--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Gui, N., Yang, X., Tu, J., Jiang, S., & Zhang, Z. (2018). Numerical simulation of tetrahedral particle mixing and motion in rotating drums. Particuology, 39, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2017.08.004

Numerical simulation of tetrahedral particle mixing and motion in rotating drums

Nan Gui ^a, Xingtuan Yang ^a, Jiyuan Tu ^{a b}, Shengyao Jiang ^a *, Zhen Zhang ^a

a Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
b School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia

10.1016/j.partic.2017.08.004

Volume 39, August 2018, Pages 1-11

Received 11 April 2017, Revised 10 July 2017, Accepted 15 August 2017, Available online 18 December 2017, Version of Record 17 May 2018.

E-mail: shengyaojiang@sina.com

Highlights

• Mixing behavior of tetrahedral and spherical particles was compared using SIPHPM simulations.

• Flow regime and mixing level depended on rotation speed, filling level and particle shape.

• Tetrahedra were better mixed than spheres at high filling level in rolling and cascading regimes.

• Tetrahedra were mixed slower than spheres in rolling and cascading regimes.

Abstract

A regular tetrahedron is the simplest three-dimensional structure and has the largest non-sphericity. Mixing of tetrahedral particles in a thin drum mixer was studied by the soft-sphere-imbedded pseudo-hard particle model and compared with that of spherical particles. The two particle types were simulated with different rotation speeds and drum filling levels. The Lacey mixing index and Shannon information entropy were used to explore the effects of sphericity on the mixing and motion of particles. Moreover, the probability density functions and mean values and variances of motion velocities, including translational and rotational, were computed to quantify the differences between the motion features of tetrahedra and spheres. We found that the flow regime depended on the particle shape in addition to the rotation speed and filling level of the drum. The mixing of tetrahedral particles was better than that of spherical particles in the rolling and cascading regimes at a high filling level, whereas it may be poorer when the filling level was low. The Shannon information entropy is better than the Lacey mixing index to evaluate mixing because it can reflect the real change of flow regime from the cataracting to the centrifugal regime, whereas the mixing index cannot.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Tetrahedron; Non-spherical particle; Mixing; Drum; Flow regime; Discrete element method

文章导读