Effects of container geometry on the packing structures of trilobed particles--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Yu, F., Cui, D., Liu, R., Zhang, Y., & Zhou, G. (2026). Effects of container geometry on the packing structures of trilobed particles. Particuology, 110, 211-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2026.01.011

Effects of container geometry on the packing structures of trilobed particles

Fuhai Yu^{a *}, Dongling Cui^a, Ruiqiu Liu^a, Yun Zhang^{c d *}, Guangzheng Zhou^b *

a School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials, Jining University, Qufu, 273155, China
b Beijing Key Laboratory of Enze Biomass and Fine Chemicals, College of New Materials and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, 102617, China
c College of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou, 256600, China
d Shandong Key Laboratory of Industrial Software for Chemical Process Simulation and Optimization, Qingdao 266042, China

10.1016/j.partic.2026.01.011

Volume 110, March 2026, Pages 211-222

Received 22 October 2025, Revised 6 January 2026, Accepted 12 January 2026, Available online 19 January 2026, Version of Record 30 January 2026.

E-mail: antony1987@126.com; yzhang802@163.com; zhouguangzheng@bitp.edu.cn

Highlights

• A hybrid multi-sphere and exact contact detection approach is developed for trilobes.

• Effects of container geometry are explored for the packing densification of trilobes.

• Packing density is related to not the degree of crystallization but the arrangement of clusters of distinct orientations.

Abstract

The packing densification of trilobes in rectangular containers of varying aspect ratios is systematically investigated using a geometrically exact contact detection algorithm combined with the multi-sphere method. Packing structures are analyzed in terms of overall density, spatial packing density distribution, radial distribution function, and densification mechanisms. Under mechanical vibration, two preferential particle orientations are identified. At low vibration amplitudes, spatial confinement in the bottom layer restricts rearrangement of trilobes, resulting in partial vertical alignment while many particles remain parallel to the container base. At higher amplitudes, increased mobility facilitates extensive reorientation and structural reconfiguration of trilobes, allowing nearly all trilobes near the bottom aligning vertically. In rectangular containers, trilobes predominantly adopt orientations either parallel or perpendicular to the container base, forming granular beds composed of ordered clusters of distinct orientations. The crystallization process is prohibited by the joint effects of the two distinct preferential orientations and the strong interlockings between trilobed particles and a random close packing of trilobed particles is formed in the containers. Notably, the overall packing density is not determined by the degree of crystallization but by the spatial arrangements of clusters of distinct orientations which is not sensitive to the geometry of the rectangular containers; granular beds consisting of ordered clusters with relatively low nematic order parameters can achieve higher global packing densities.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Packing densification; Discrete element method; Container shapes; Mechanical vibration; Trilobes

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