Axial segregation characteristics and size-induced flow behavior of particles in a novel rotary drum with curved sidewalls

Particle mixing and segregation are common phenomena in rotary drums,which are challenging to be controlled and driven artificially in powder technology.In this work,the discrete element method(DEM)was applied to construct the novel rotary drum composed of different shaped curved sidewalls.By varying the operation parameters of particle and sidewall shapes as well as the length-to-diameter(L/D)ratio of drums,the axial mixing and segregation processes of binary size-induced particles were investigated.The results show that the axial flow velocity of the particle mixtures is noticeably weakened once the particle angularity increases,making the non-spherical particles to mix better in rotary drums compared to the spherical particles.Besides,in the short drums with size-induced spherical particles,the axial segregation characteristics are significantly enhanced by the convex sidewalls while suppressed by the concave sidewalls.However,for size-induced non-spherical particles,the axial segregation structure can be present in rotary drums with plane and concave sidewalls while not in drums with convex sidewalls.Moreover,the axial segregation band structure of spherical particles eventually increases proportionally with the increased drum L/D ratios.In contrast,the non-spherical particles cannot form obvious multi-proportional segregation bands.

Using the discrete element method to assess the mixing of polydisperse solid particles in a rotary drum

Despite the wide applications of powder and solid mixing in industry, knowledge on the mixing of polydisperse solid particles in rotary drum blenders is lacking. This study investigates the mixing of monodisperse, bidisperse, tridisperse, and polydisperse solid particles in a rotary drum using the dis- crete element method. To validate the model developed in this study, experimental and simulation results were compared. The validated model was then employed to investigate the effects of the drum rotational speed, particle size, and initial loading method on the mixing quality. The degree of mixing of polydis- perse particles was smaller than that for monodisperse particles owing to the segregation phenomenon. The mixing index increased from an initial value to a maximum and decreased slightly before reaching a plateau for bidisperse, tridisperse, and polydisperse particles as a direct result of the segregation of par- ticles of different sizes. Final mixing indices were higher for polydisperse particles than for tridisperse and bidisperse particles. Additionally, segregation was weakened by introducing additional particles of intermediate size. The best mixing of bidisperse and tridisperse particles was achieved for top-bottom smaller-to-larger initial loading, while that of polydisperse systems was achieved using top-bottom smaller-to-larger and top-bottom larger-to-smaller initial loading methods.

Enhancing mixing of cohesive particles by baffles in a rotary drum

A soft-sphere discrete cohesive powder model was used to simulate the transverse mixing of particles in a rotary drum. Using this model, the effect of cohesion strength and baffle length was investigated. Mixing time （tR） and mixing entropy were used to characterize the mixing behavior. The results showed that increasing particle cohesiveness increases tR. Baffles enhanced transverse mixing, especially for high- cohesive particles. Moreover, the baffle length played a significant role on mixing. An optimized length of 0.50 （L/R） enhances transverse mixing for high-cohesive particles, Further increases in baffle length only decreases the mixing rate by impeding the surface flow layer. In contrast to high-cohesive particles, low-cohesive particles needed much shorter baffles.A soft-sphere discrete cohesive powder model was used to simulate the transverse mixing of particles in a rotary drum. Using this model, the effect of cohesion strength and baffle length was investigated. Mixing time （tR） and mixing entropy were used to characterize the mixing behavior. The results showed that increasing particle cohesiveness increases tR. Baffles enhanced transverse mixing, especially for high- cohesive particles. Moreover, the baffle length played a significant role on mixing. An optimized length of 0.50 （L/R） enhances transverse mixing for high-cohesive particles. Further increases in baffle length only decreases the mixing rate by impeding the surface flow layer. In contrast to high-cohesive particles, low-cohesive particles needed much shorter baffles.

Three-dimensional heat transfer in a particulate bed in a rotary drum studied via the discrete element method

We simulated three-dimensional heat transfer inside a horizontal rotating drum using the discrete element method and a thermal conduction model.The aim was to determine the effect of end-wall heating on thermal behavior of a granular bed.The simulation showed that the end-wall heating significantly affects the axial temperature profile of the bed,particularly when the length-to-diameter ratio is low.Particles near the wall heated faster and became more thermally uniform than those in the center of the drum.The region affected by the end heating gradually increased over time.Increasing the rotation speed enhanced the heat conduction rate,and increasing the fill level reduced the mean temperature and thermal uniformity of the granular bed.Heat transfer was also simulated for drums with different length-to-diameter ratios.

Establishment and verification of a model for the movement of pulverized sweet sorghum stalks in a rotary drum bioreactor by discrete element method

The mixing of raw materials in a rotary drum bioreactor is important for advanced solid-state fermentation technology.However,the shape,size,and other properties of pulverized sweet sorghum stalk particles are more complicated than those of the spherical particles.In this study,a soft rod-shaped discrete particle model was established and verified to simulate the mixing behavior of sweet sorghum stalk particles in a rotary drum bioreactor.We were inspired by the particle shape and established a rod-shaped particle model by investigating the influence of the shape(length-diameter ratio)and size(diameter)on the particle packing(stack height and bed porosity).We used orthogonal simulations and extremum difference analysis to determine the main factors,optimum level,and groups of other parameters.Based on calibrated parameters,twelve sets of simulations of radial mixing in the drum were performed,and the results were compared with experiments conducted under identical operating conditions.The average relative error between the simulation and the experiment was 10.95%,which indicates that they agreed well and that the simulation could predict the mixing process well.

Application of the BSSF molten steel slag processing technology in POSCO

This study describes an overview of the POSCO＇ s Baosteel＇ s short-flow （BSSF） slag processing project, including process flow, process set-up, equipment composition, auxiliary facilities and relevant parameters, as well as a brief description of its application after commissioning.

Effect of viscosity on the avalanche dynamics and flow transition of wet granular matter

The dynamic behaviour of granular flows is important in geo-mechanics and industrial applications,yet poorly understood.We studied the effects of liquid viscosity and particle size on the dynamics of wet granular material flowing in a slowly rotating drum,in order to detect the transition from the avalanching to the continuous flow regime.A discrete element method(DEM)model,in which contact forces and cohesive forces were considered,was employed to simulate this flow behaviour.The model was validated experimentally,using glass beads in a wooden drum and water–glycerol mixtures to tune the liquid viscosity.The DEM simulations showed comparable results to the experiments in terms of average slope angle and avalanche amplitude.We observed that the avalanche amplitude,flow layer velocity and granular temperature decrease as the liquid viscosity increases.This effect is more pronounced for smaller sized particles.The increase in viscous forces causes the flowing particles to behave as a bulk,pushing the free surface towards a convex shape.In addition,avalanches become less pronounced and the granular flow transitions from the avalanching regime to the continuous regime.The avalanching flow regime is marked by intermittent rigid body movement of the particulate bed and near-zero drops in the granular temperature,while no rigid body movement of the bed occurs in the continuous flow regime.We identified the avalanching-continuous flow transition region as a function of a dimensionless granular Galileo number.