Multi-level DEM study on silo discharge behaviors of non-spherical particles--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Xu, L., Wu, X., Liang, J., Wang, S., & Bao, S. (2023). Multi-level DEM study on silo discharge behaviors of non-spherical particles. Particuology, 82, 179-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2023.02.001

Multi-level DEM study on silo discharge behaviors of non-spherical particles

Lei Xu ^{a b *}, Xiukai Wu ^a, Jingyin Liang ^a, Shuai Wang ^c, Shiyi Bao ^{a b *}

a Institute of Process Equipment and Control Engineering, College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China
b Engineering Research Center of Process Equipment and Remanufacturing, Ministry of Education, China
c State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

10.1016/j.partic.2023.02.001

Volume 82, November 2023, Pages 179-191

Received 14 November 2022, Revised 28 January 2023, Accepted 3 February 2023, Available online 16 February 2023, Version of Record 24 February 2023.

E-mail: xulei@zjut.edu.cn, bsy@zjut.edu.cn

Highlights

• Larger solid fraction caused larger discharge rate of ellipsoid particles.

• Flowability of cubic particles is also worse than sphere particles.

• Dispersion of fluctuation velocities of ellipsoid particles is lower.

• Dispersion of fluctuation velocities of large particles is evidently lower than small particles.

• Global fluctuation velocity positively correlates with global velocity.

Abstract

The silo discharge of non-spherical particles has been widely practiced in engineering processes, yet the understanding of multi-level mechanisms during solid transportation is still lacking. In this study, a high-fidelity super-ellipsoid Discrete Element Method (DEM) model is established to investigate the discharge behaviors of non-spherical particles with different size distributions. After the comprehensive model validations, we investigated the effects of particle shape (aspect ratio and particle sharpness) on the particle level discharge behaviors. The discharge rates of the ellipsoid particles used in the current work are larger than the spherical particles due to the larger solid fraction. The discharge rates of the cuboid-like particles are determined by the combined effect of the solid fraction and the contact force. Parcel level data show that the translational movements of the ellipsoid particles are more ordered, which is supported by the global level data. Strong correlations exist between the particle level and parcel level data, especially the ellipsoid particles and the large particles in the polydispersed cases.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Multi-level study; Non-spherical particle; Numerical simulation; Silo discharge; Granular flow

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