Experimental Investigation of Particles Dynamics and Solid-Liquid Mixing Uniformity in a Stirred Tank

Particle suspension and deposition dynamics are significant factors affecting the level of mixing quality in solidliquid two-phase stirring processes. In general, the ability to increase the suspension rate and minimize depositioneffects is instrumental in improving the uniformity of particle mixing, accelerating the reaction of involved solidliquid two-phase, and improving the efficiency of production operations. In this work, suspension and depositionindicator based on the Betti number and a uniformity indicator are introduced and obtained by means of imageanalysis. The influence of the blade type, rotation speed, blade diameter and blade bottom height on the particlesuspension/deposition characteristics and mixing uniformity are carefully investigated. The experimental resultsshow that the two-phase motion region can be divided into three local regions, including a bottom motion alongthe wall, a low-degree suspension region under the blade and a high suspension region above the blade. The bestdegree of particle suspension is attained by the double-inclined blade paddle at a speed of 270 r/min, a paddlediameter ratio of 0.414, and a height-diameter ratio of 0.086. The double-inclined blade paddle has a better effecton promoting particle suspension and solid-liquid two-phase mixing uniformity.

Simulation of random mixed packing of different density particles

This paper presents the effects of density difference on the three-dimensional （3D） distribution of random mixed packing. The random mixed packing dynamics of particles of two different densities are simulated. The initial state is homogeneous, but the final packing state is inhomogeneous. The segregation phenomenon （inhomogeneous distribution） is also observed. In the final state, the top layers are composed of mostly light particles. The several layers beneath the top contain more heavy particles than light particles. At the bottom, they also contain more heavy particles than light particles. Furthermore, at both the top and the bottom, particle clustering is observed. The current study also analyses the cause of this inhomogeneity in detail. The main cause of this phenomenon is the velocity difference after collision of these two types of particles induced by the density difference. The present study reveals that even if particles were perfectly mixed, the packing process would lead to the final inhomogeneous mixture. It suggests that special treatment may be required to get the true homogeneous packing.

The Marginal Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter for Mixed Linear/Nonlinear State Space Models

In this paper, the marginal Rao-Blackwellized particle filter （MRBPF）, which fuses the Rao-Blackwellized particle filter （RBPF） algorithm and the marginal particle filter （MPF） algorithm, is presented. The state space is divided into linear and non-linear parts, which can be estimated separately by the MPF and the optional Kalman filter. Through simulation in the terrain aided navigation （TAN） domain, it is demonstrated that, compared with the RBPF, the root mean square errors （RMSE） and the error variance of the nonlinear state estimations by the proposed MRBPF are respectively reduced by 29% and 96%, while the unique particle count is increased by 80%. It is also found that the MRBPF has better convergence properties, and analysis has shown that the existing RBPF is nothing more than a special case of the MRBPF.

Hybrid particle swarm optimization with chaotic search for solving integer and mixed integer programming problems

A novel chaotic search method is proposed,and a hybrid algorithm combining particle swarm optimization(PSO) with this new method,called CLSPSO,is put forward to solve 14 integer and mixed integer programming problems.The performances of CLSPSO are compared with those of other five hybrid algorithms combining PSO with chaotic search methods.Experimental results indicate that in terms of robustness and final convergence speed,CLSPSO is better than other five algorithms in solving many of these problems.Furthermore,CLSPSO exhibits good performance in solving two high-dimensional problems,and it finds better solutions than the known ones.A performance index(PI) is introduced to fairly compare the above six algorithms,and the obtained values of(PI) in three cases demonstrate that CLSPSO is superior to all the other five algorithms under the same conditions.

Effects of Magnetic Particles Entrance Arrangements on Mixing Efficiency of a Magnetic Bead Micromixer

In this study, a computer code is developed to numerically investigate a magnetic bead micromixer under different conditions. The micromixer consists of a microchannel and numerous micro magnetic particles which enter the micromixer by fluid flows and are actuated by an alternating magnetic field normal to the main flow. An important feature of micromixer which is not considered before by researchers is the particle entrance arrangement into the micromixer. This parameter could effectively affect the micromixer efficiency. There are two general micro magnetic particle entrance arrangements in magnetic bead micromixers: determined position entrance and random position entrance. In the case of determined position entrances, micro magnetic particles enter the micromixer at specific positions of entrance cross section. However, in a random position entrance,particles enter the microchannel with no order. In this study mixing efficiencies of identical magnetic bead micromixers which only differ in particle entrance arrangement are numerically investigated and compared.The results reported in this paper illustrate that the prepared computer code can be one of the most powerful and beneficial tools for the magnetic bead micromixer performance analysis. In addition, the results show that some features of the magnetic bead micromixer are strongly affected by the entrance arrangement of the particles.

Effect of Pelleted Total Mixed Ration of Different Particle Sizes on Production Performance and Serum Biochemical Index of Fattening Hainan Black Goats

[Objective] The paper to investigate the effects of pelleted total mixed ration of different particle size on production performance and serum biochemical index of fattening Hainan black goats.[Method] Thirty-six fattening Hainan black goats with the same genetic backgrounds and similar initial weight of(19.02±0.22) kg were randomly divided into three treatments. Goats were fed with Juncao+concentrate(control group), pel-leted total mixed ration I(particle size 6 mm, experimental group I) and II(particle size 5 mm, experimental group II), respectively. The trial lasted 45 d.[Result](1) The final weight and daily gain of experimental group II were significantly higher than those of control group( P<0.05), and the daily gain of experimental group II was also higher than that of experimental group I(P<0.05);the feed intake of experimental group II was markedly higher than that of control group(P<0.05), but was significantly lower than that of experimental group I(P<0.05). The feed/gain ratio of experimental group II was significantly lower than those of control group and experimental group I(P<0.05).(2) The feed gain cost of experimental group II was markedly lower than that of control group(P<0.05), but the gross profit was significantly higher than those of control group and experimental group I(P<0.05).(3) Compared with the control group, the serum total protein content of experimental group II increased markedly( P<0.05) while the urea nitrogen level decreased(P>0.05).[Conclusion] The pelleted total mixed ration with the particle size of 5 mm obtained better fattening ef-fect, and obviously improved the serum total protein level.

EFFECT OF SUSPENDED SOLID PARTICLES ON UNSTABILITY OF TWO-DIMENSION MIXING LAYER

By considering the effect of suspended solid particles in the ordinary equations for two-dimension inviscid incompressible mixing layer, the Rayleigh equation and the modified Rayleigh equation are obtained. And then, by solving the corresponding eigen-value equations with numerical computational method, the relation curves between perturbation frequency and spacial growth rate of the mixing layer for the varying particle loading, ratio of particle velocity to fluid velocity and Stokes number are got. Sever al important conclusions on the effect of suspended solid particles on unstability of the mixing layer are presented in the end by analyzing all the relation curves.

Discharge mode and particle transport in radio frequency capacitively coupled Ar/O_(2) plasma discharges

Simulations are conducted on capacitively coupled Ar/O_(2)mixed gas discharges employing a one-dimensional fluid coupled with an electron Monte Carlo(MC)model.The research explores the impact of different O_(2)ratio and pressures on the discharge characteristics of Ar/O_(2)plasma.At a fixed Ar/O_(2)gas ratio,with the increasing pressure,higher ion densities,as well as a slight increase in electron density in the bulk region can be observed.The discharge remains dominated by the drift-ambipolar(DA)mode,and the flux of O(3P)at the electrode increases with the increasing pressure due to higher background gas density,while the fluxes of O(1D)and Ardecrease due to the pronounced loss rate.With the increasing proportion of O_(2),a change in the dominant discharge mode from a mode to DA mode can be detected,and the O_(2)-associated charged particle densities are significantly increased.However,Ar+density shows a trend of increasing and then decreasing,while for neutral fluxes at the electrode,Arflux decreases,and O(3P)flux increases with the reduced Ar gas proportion,while trends in O(1D)flux show slight differences.The evolution of the densities of the charged particle and the neutral fluxes under different discharge parameters are discussed in detail using the ionization characteristics as well as the transport properties.Hopefully,more comprehensive understanding of Ar/O_(2)discharge characteristics in this work will provide a valuable reference for the industry.

Designing mixed <i>H</i>₂/<i>H</i>_&infin;structure specified controllers using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm

This paper proposes an efficient method for designing accurate structure-specified mixed H2/H∞ optimal controllers for systems with uncertainties and disturbance using particle swarm (PSO) algorithm. It is designed to find a suitable controller that minimizes the performance index of error signal subject to an unequal constraint on the norm of the closed-loop system. Although the mixed H2/H∞ for the output feedback approach control is considered as a robust and optimal control technique, the design process normally comes up with a complex and non-convex optimization problem, which is difficult to solve by the conventional optimization methods. The PSO can efficiently solve design problems of multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) optimal control systems, which is very suitable for practical engineering designs. It is used to search for parameters of a structure-specified controller, which satisfies mixed performance index. The simulation and experimental results show high feasibility, robustness and practical value compared with the conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and proportional-Integral (PI) controller, and the proposed algorithm is also more efficient compared with the genetic algorithm (GA).

Radial mixing and segregation of granular bed bi-dispersed both in particle size and density within horizontal rotating drum

Taking simultaneous variations in both particle volume and density into account, the radial mixing and segregation of binary granular bed in a rotating drum half loaded were investigated by a 3D discrete element method. Then, based on the competition theory of condensation and percolation, radial segregation due to differences in particle volume and/or density was analyzed. The results show that if either percolation effect induced by volume difference or condensation effect induced by density difference dominates in the active layer of moving bed, separation will occur. Controlling the volume ratio or density ratio of the two types of particles can achieve an equilibrium state between percolation and condensation, and then homogenous mixture can be obtained. When the percolation balances with the condensation, the relationship between volume ratioand density ratiopresents nearly a power function. Scaling up a rotating drum will not affect the mixing degree of the granular bed so long as the volume ratio and density ratio are predefined.

One-year observation of the mixing states of oxygenated organics-containing single particles in Guangzhou,China

Oxygenated organic molecules(OOMs)play an important role in the formation of secondary organic aerosols(SOAs),but the mixing states of OOMs are still unclear.This study investigates the mixing states of OOM-containing single particles from the measurements taken using a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer in Guangzhou,China in 2022.Generally,the particle counts of OOM particles and the mass concentration of secondary organic carbon(SOC)exhibited similar temporal trends throughout the entire year.The OOM particles were consistently enriched in secondary ions,including ^(16)O^(−),^(26)CN^(−),^(46)NO_(2)^(−),^(62)NO_(3)^(−),and ^(97)HSO_(4)^(−).In contrast,the number fractions and diurnal patterns of OOM particles among the total detected particles showed similar distributions in August and October;however,the SOC ratios in fine particulate matter were quite different,suggesting that there were different mixing states of single-particle oxygenated organics.In addition,further classification results indicated that the OOM particles were more aged in October than August,even though the SOC ratios were higher in August.Furthermore,the distribution of hydrocarbon fragments exhibited a notable decrease from January to October,emphasizing the more aged state of the organics in October.In addition,the sharp increase in elemental carbon(EC)-OOM particles in the afternoon in October suggests the potential role of EC in the aging process of organics.Overall,in contrast to the bulk analysis of SOC mass concentration,the mixing states of the OOM particles provide insights into the formation process of SOAs in field studies.

Al_(80)Ni_6Y_8Co_4Cu_2 GLASS ALLOYS CONTAINING NANOSCALEPARTICLES BY ISOTHERMAL ANNEALING OR QUENCHING

Al80Ni6 Y8 Co4 Cu2 amorphous ribbons were isothermally annealed and a mixed structure consisting of α-Al particle with a size of less than 15nm and Al3Ni compound with a size of about 30nm was obtained. The crystallization kinetics of Al80Ni6 Y8 Co4 Cu2 amorphous alloy shows that the precipitation of α-Al particles is the growth process controlled by diffusion of the solute elements rejected from the growing crystals. By quenching at different cooling rates, a mixed structure consisting of nanoscale α-Al particles and the remaining glass matrix or structure consisting of nanoscale particle (Al phase or Al3Ni compound) with a size of about 100nm was formed. The addition of Co elements and Cu elements to Al-Ni-Y alloy systems increases the glass formation ability of the alloy and the thermal stability of the supercooled liquid region against crystallization, which results from significant difference of atomic size, strong bonding nature among constituent elements and the low diffisivity of the solute elements due to the concentration gradient in the growing front of crystals.

Analysis of cohesive particles mixing behavior in a twin-paddle blender:DEM and machine learning applications

This research paper presents a comprehensive discrete element method(DEM)examination of the mixing behaviors exhibited by cohesive particles within a twin-paddle blender.A comparative analysis between the simulation and experimental results revealed a relative error of 3.47%,demonstrating a strong agreement between the results from the experimental tests and the DEM simulation.The main focus centers on systematically exploring how operational parameters,such as impeller rotational speed,blender's fill level,and particle mass ratio,influence the process.The investigation also illustrates the significant influence of the mixing time on the mixing quality.To gain a deeper understanding of the DEM simulation findings,an analytical tool called multivariate polynomial regression in machine learning is employed.This method uncovers significant connections between the DEM results and the operational parameters,providing a more comprehensive insight into their interrelationships.The multivariate polynomial regression model exhibited robust predictive performance,with a mean absolute percentage error of less than 3%for both the training and validation sets,indicating a slight deviation from actual values.The model's precision was confirmed by low mean absolute error values of 0.0144(80%of the dataset in the training set)and 0.0183(20%of the dataset in the validation set).The study offers valuable insights into granular mixing behaviors,with implications for enhancing the efficiency and predictability of the mixing processes in various industrial applications.

Real-time,single-particle chemical composition,volatility and mixing state measurements of urban aerosol particles in southwest China

To investigate the volatility of atmospheric particulates and the evolution of other particulate properties(chemical composition,particle size distribution and mixing state)with temperature,a thermodenuder coupled with a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer was used to conduct continuous observations of atmospheric fine particles in Chengdu,southwest China.Because of their complex sources and secondary reaction processes,the average mass spectra of single particles contained a variety of chemical components(including organic,inorganic and metal species).When the temperature rose from room temperature to280℃,the relative areas of volatile and semi-volatile components decreased,while the relative areas of less or non-volatile components increased.Most(>80%)nitrate and sulfate existed in the form of NH_(4)NO_(3)and(NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4),and their volatilization temperatures were50–100℃and 150–280℃,respectively.The contribution of biomass burning(BB)and vehicle emission(VE)particles increased significantly at 280℃,which emphasized the important role of regional biomass burning and local motor vehicle emissions to the core of particles.With the increase in temperature,the particle size of the particles coated with volatile or semi-volatile components was reduced,and their mixing with secondary inorganic components was significantly weakened.The formation of K-nitrate(KNO_(3))and K-sulfate(KSO_(4))particles was dominated by liquid-phase processes and photochemical reactions,respectively.Reducing KNO_(3)and BB particles is the key to improving visibility.These new results are helpful towards better understanding the initial sources,pollution formation mechanisms and climatic effects of fine particulate matter in this megacity in southwest China.

Mixing states and secondary formation processes of organic nitrogen-containing single particles in Guangzhou,China

Organic nitrogen(ON)compounds play a significant role in the light absorption of brown carbon and the formation of organic aerosols,however,the mixing state,secondary formation processes,and influencing factors of ON compounds are still unclear.This paper reports on the mixing state of ON-containing particles based on measurements obtained using a highperformance single particle aerosol mass spectrometer in January 2020 in Guangzhou.The ON-containing particles accounted for 21% of the total detected single particles,and the particle count and number fraction of the ON-containing particles were two times higher at night than during the day.The prominent increase in the content of ON-containing particles with the enhancement of NO_xmainly occurred at night,and accompanied by high relative humidity and nitrate,which were associated with heterogeneous reactions between organics and gaseous NO_(x)and/or NO_(3)radical.The synchronous decreases in ON-containing particles and the mass absorption coefficient of water-soluble extracts at 365 nm in the afternoon may be associated with photo-bleaching of the ON species in the particles.In addition,the positive matrix factorization analysis found five factors dominated the formation processes of ON particles,and the nitrate factor(33%)mainly contributed to the production of ON particles at night.The results of this study provide unique insights into the mixing states and secondary formation processes of the ON-containing particles.

Effects of rotational speed and fill level on particle mixing in a stirred tank with different impellers

The particle mixing was studied in a cylindrical stirred tank with elliptical dished bottom by experiments and simulations.The impeller types used were double helical ribbon(HR) + bottom HR,pitched blade ribbon + bottom HR,inner and outer HR + bottom HR,and pitched blade ribbon + Pfaudler + bottom HR labeled as impellers Ⅰ to Ⅳ,respectively.The quantitative correlations among the rotational speed,fill level and power consumption for impeller Ⅰ and impeller Ⅱ were obtained by experiments to validate the discrete element method(DEM) simulations.The particle mixing at different operating conditions was simulated via DEM simulations to calculate the mixing index using the Lacey method,which is a statistical method to provide a mathematical understanding of the mixing state in a binary mixture.The simulation results reveal that as the rotational speed increases,the final mixing index increases,and as the fill level increases,the final mixing index decreases.At the same operating conditions,impeller Ⅲ is the optimal combination,which provides the highest mixing index at the same revolutions.

Effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion by agitation characteristic curve

In this study,the effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion in stirred tank were investigated by agitation characteristic curve.The experiments and CFD simulations with discrete phase model(DPM)and volume of fluid model(VOF)were conducted in this paper.Five factors,which include four geometrical factors(submergence,impeller-to-tank ratio,number of impeller blades and baffling mode)and a physical factor(liquid viscosity)were considered.For each factor,the power consumption curve and agitation characteristic curve were drawn to compare the power consumption and mixing results in the stirred tank.Characteristics of the agitation characteristic curves were compared with the previous published literatures and theories.It is found that the agitation characteristic curves reflect the tendency of power consumption and particles distribution well in stirred tank.The good agreement indicates the applicability of the agitation characteristic curves for the study of light particles distribution in stirred tank.

Impacts of solid physical properties on the performances of a slurry external airlift loop reactor integrating mixing and separation

Solid physical properties are vital for the design, optimization, and scale-up of gas–liquid–solid multiphase reactors. The complex and interactional effects of the solid physical properties, including particle diameter, density, wettability, and sphericity, on the hydrodynamic behaviors in a new external airlift loop reactor(EALR) integrating mixing and separation are decoupled in this work. Two semi-empirical equations are proposed and validated to predict the overall gas holdup and liquid circulating velocity satisfactorily, and then the individual influence of such solid physical properties is further investigated. The results demonstrate that both the overall gas holdup in the riser and the liquid circulating velocity in the downcomer increase with the contact angle, but decrease with particle size, density, and sphericity.Additionally, the impact of the particle size on the liquid circulating velocity is also profoundly revealed on a micro-level considering the particle size distribution. Moreover, the axial solid concentration distribution is discussed, and the uniformity of the slurry is described by the mixing index of the solid particles. The results show that a more homogeneous mixture can be achieved by adding finer particles other than attaining violent turbulence. Therefore, this work lays a foundation for the design, scale-up, and industrialization of the EALRs.

Comparison of Cloud Properties between Cloud Sat Retrievals and Airplane Measurements in Mixed-Phase Cloud Layers of Weak Convective and Stratus Clouds

Cloud microphysical properties including liquid and ice particle number concentration （NC）, liquid water content （LWC）, ice water content （IWC） and effective radius （RE） were retrieved from CloudSat data for a weakly convective and a widespread stratus cloud. Within the mixed-phase cloud layers, liquid-phase fractions needed to be assumed in the data retrieval process, and one existing linear （Pl） and two exponential （P2 and P3） functions, which estimate the liquid-phase fraction as a function of subfreezing temperature （from -20℃ to 0℃）, were tested. The retrieved NC, LWC, IWC and RE using Pl were on average larger than airplane measurements in the same cloud layer, Function P2 performed better than p1 or P3 in retrieving the NCs of cloud droplets in the convective cloud, while function Pl performed better in the stratus cloud. Function P3 performed better in LWC estimation in both convective and stratus clouds. The REs of cloud droplets calculated using the retrieved cloud droplet NC and LWC were closer to the values of in situ observations than those retrieved directly using the Pl function. The retrieved NCs of ice particles in both convective and stratus clouds, on the assumption of liquid-phase fraction during the retrieval of liquid droplet NCs, were closer to those of airplane observations than on the assumption of function P1.

Features of the motion of gel particles in a three-phase bubble column under foaming and non-foaming conditions

Features of the motion of gel particles in a three-phase bubble column with non-foaming and foaming gas–liquid systems,determined by using experiments of radioactive particle tracking(RPT),have been compared.The tracer used is a gel particle which resembles typical immobilized biocatalyst.The tracer trajectory is analyzed to extract relevant information for design purposes.The solid velocity field,turbulence parameters,dispersion coefficients,mixing times and flow transitions are determined and compared.The presence of foam significantly affects many quantified parameters,especially within the heterogeneous flow regime.The hydrodynamic stresses are reduced in the presence of foam,especially close to the disengagement.The dispersion coefficients also decrease,and the solid mixing time is only slightly affected by the presence of foam.Gas holdup,inferred both from RPT experiments and from gamma ray scanning,is higher for foaming systems and leads to a shift in the transition gas velocity towards higher values.