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Volume 114
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Non-spherical coarse coal breakage in single bend pneumatic conveying under idealized oscillatory flow
Yuxuan Zhou a, Yun Ji a *, Yubo Xu a, Jiawei Zhou b, Xingzhou Cai a, Chong Yu c
a School of Mechanical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, China
b School of Mechanical Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
c Tangshan Jidong Equipment and Engineering Co., Ltd., Tangshan, 063200, China
10.1016/j.partic.2026.04.017
Volume 114, July 2026, Pages 270-282
Received 14 March 2026, Revised 16 April 2026, Accepted 27 April 2026, Available online 4 May 2026, Version of Record 11 May 2026.
E-mail: jiyun@ysu.edu.cn
Highlights

• Rectangular-wave oscillatory airflow was introduced for low-breakage transport.

• CFD–DEM with Tavares model predicted coarse coal breakage behavior.

• Optimal oscillation parameters reduced collision frequency and power loss.

• Particle sphericity significantly altered impact energy and breakage behavior.


Abstract

Coal breakage during pneumatic conveying reduces the economic value of lump coal and generates dust, thereby increasing explosion risk. Therefore, understanding and controlling particle breakage is important for improving conveying efficiency and safety. In this study, the breakage characteristics of non-spherical coarse coal were investigated using a CFD-DEM coupling method combined with the Tavares UFRJ breakage model, in which a rectangular wave oscillatory airflow was imposed as an idealized inlet air condition. The oscillatory airflow was implemented through a Fluent user defined function, enabling systematic control of frequency, amplitude, and Duty (the ratio of the pulse duration of the rectangular wave to its period). Compared with previous studies focused mainly on steady inlet conditions or simplified particle shapes, the present work considers both controlled inlet-flow modulation and reconstructed non-spherical particle geometry within the same framework. The results show that the breakage rate first decreases and then increases with increasing frequency and Duty, and the best-performing condition within the tested range was 100 Hz, Duty is 0.5, and nominal air flow velocity is 16 m/s. Compared with the steady inlet condition in the same bend scale model, the idealized rectangular wave inlet modulation reduced particle-wall collisions and improved particle integrity. In addition, 3D scanned coal particles were modeled as convex polyhedral particles to examine the effect of shape. The results indicate that particle sphericity significantly affects particle dynamics and impact behavior, and both the particle impact power at the bend and the breakage rate increase with increasing sphericity. These findings provide numerical insight into coarse-particle breakage behavior in bend scale pneumatic conveying under an idealized periodically modulated inlet condition.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Non-spherical; Oscillatory airflow; Breakage; Pneumatic transport; Coarse coal
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