Numerical simulation of flocculation and settling behavior of whole-tailings particles in deep-cone thickener

Rapid dewatering and thickening of whole-tailings with ultrafine particles is one of the most important processes for the whole-tailings paste preparation. Deep-cone thickener, a kind of such process for the flocculation and settling of whole-tailings, is particularly necessary to study. However, there exist many problems in observing the flocculation and settling process of whole-tailings, as well as the particle size distribution(PSD) of whole-tailings floccules in deep-cone thickener. Population balance model(PBM) is applied to predict the PSD in deep-cone thickener, and LUO model and GHADIRI model are employed to study the aggregation and fragmentation mechanism of the whole-tailings particles, respectively. Through three-dimensional numerical simulation on the whole-tailings flocculation and settling in deep-cone thickener using computational fluid dynamics(CFD)-PBM, the distribution of density and turbulent kinetic energy in deep-cone thickener were obtained, at the same time the spatio-temporal changes of whole-tailings floccules particle size distribution are analyzed. Finally, the major flocculation position in deep-cone thickener is found and the flocculation settling rules of whole-tailings are achieved.

Model of Random Polygon Particles for Concrete and Mesh Automatic Subdivision

In order to study the constitutive behavior of concrete in mesoscopic level, a new method is proposed in this paper. This method uses random polygon particles to simulate full grading broken aggregates of concrete. Based on computational geometry, we carry out the automatic generation of the triangle finite element mesh for the model of random polygon particles of concrete. The finite element mesh generated in this paper is also applicable to many other numerical methods.

Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity Identify Standard Model Particles as Black Holes

The Standard Model of particle physics does not account for charged fermion mass values and neutrino mass, or explain why only three particles are in each charge state 0, -e/3, 2e/3, and -e. These issues are addressed by treating Standard Model particles with mass m as spheres with diameter equal to their Compton wavelength l =ħ/mc, where ħis Planck’s constant and c the speed of light, and any charge in diametrically opposed pairs ±ne/6 with n = 1, 2, or 3 at the axis of rotation on the sphere surface. Particles are ground state solutions of quantized Friedmann equations from general relativity, with differing internal gravitational constants. Energy distribution within particles identifies Standard Model particles with spheres containing central black holes with mass m, and particle spin resulting from black hole angular momentum. In each charge state, energy distribution within particles satisfies a cubic equation in l, allowing only three particles in the charge state and requiring neutrino mass. Cosmic vacuum energy density is a lower limit on energy density of systems in the universe, and setting electron neutrino average energy density equal to cosmic vacuum energy density predicts neutrino masses consistent with experiment. Relations between charged fermion wavelength solutions to cubic equations in different charge states determine charged fermion masses relative to electron mass as a consequence of charge neutrality of the universe. An appendix shows assigning charge ±e/6 to bits of information on the event horizon available for holographic description of physics in the observable universe accounts for dominance of matter over anti-matter. The analysis explains why only three Standard Models are in each charge state and predicts neutrino masses based on cosmic vacuum energy density as a lower bound on neutrino energy density.

Estimates of the Charges and Size of the Three Types of Neutrinos

It is the current belief of the Physics Community that neutrinos are bereft of Charge because of Conservation of Charge in decay processes such as Beta Decay and are point particles with no physical size or shape. It is the purpose of this paper to calculate the charges and the size of the electron neutrino, the muon neutrino, and the tau neutrino based on data available of their rest masses using the charges and rest masses of the electron, muon, and tau leptons from the Standard Model of Particle Physics Table. We base our calculations on the premise that Energy can create both Mass and Charge. Charge by itself is not conserved in any process that produces neutrinos. Only Total Energy is conserved.

Refinement of Adaptive Dynamical Simulation of Quantum Mechanical Double Slit Interference Phenomenon

We applied adaptive dynamics to double slit interference phenomenon using particle model and obtained partial successful results in our previous report. The patterns qualitatively corresponded well with experiments. Several properties such as concave single slit pattern and large influence of slight displacement of the emission position were different from the experimental results. In this study we tried other slit conditions and obtained consistent patterns with experiments. We do not claim that the adaptive dynamics is the principle of quantum mechanics, but the present results support the probability of adaptive dynamics as the candidate of the basis of quantum mechanics. We discuss the advantages of the adaptive dynamical view for foundations of quantum mechanics.

Numerical simulation of diffusion process for oxidative dehydrogenation of butene to butadiene

A comprehensive single particle model which includes the mesoscale and microscale models was developed to study the influence of particle diameter on mass and heat transfer occurring within a ferrite catalyst during the oxidative dehydrogenation of butene to butadiene process. The verified model can be used to investigate the influence of catalyst diameter on the flow distribution inside the particle. The simulation results demonstrate that the mass fraction gradients of all species, temperature gradient and pressure gradient increase with the increase of the particle diameter. It means that there is a high intraparticle transfer resistance and strong diffusion when applying the large catalysts. The external particle mass transfer resistance is nearly constant under different particle diameters so that the effect of particle diameter at external diffusion can be ignored. A large particle diameter can lead to a high surface temperature, which indicates the external heat transfer resistance. Moreover, the selectivity of reaction may be changed with a variety of particle diameters so that choosing appropriate particle size can enhance the production of butadiene and optimize the reaction process.

Working Condition Real-Time Monitoring Model of Lithium Ion Batteries Based on Distributed Parameter System and Single Particle Model

Lithium ion batteries are complicated distributed parameter systems that can be described preferably by partial differential equations and a field theory. To reduce the solution difficulty and the calculation amount, if a distributed parameter system is described by ordinary differential equations （ODE） during the analysis and the design of distributed parameter system, the reliability of the system description will be reduced, and the systemic errors will be introduced. Studies on working condition real-time monitoring can improve the security because the rechargeable LIBs are widely used in many electronic systems and electromechanical equipment. Single particle model （SPM） is the simplification of LIB under some approximations, and can estimate the working parameters of a LIB at the faster simulation speed. A LIB modelling algorithm based on PDEs and SPM is proposed to monitor the working condition of LIBs in real time. Although the lithium ion concentration is an unmeasurable distributed parameter in the anode of LIB, the working condition monitoring model can track the real time lithium ion concentration in the anode of LIB, and calculate the residual which is the difference between the ideal data and the measured data. A fault alarm can be triggered when the residual is beyond the preset threshold. A simulation example verifies that the effectiveness and the accuracy of the working condition real-time monitoring model of LIB based on PDEs and SPM.

Computer Simulation of Thin Film Wrinkling on Elastic Substrate

Numerous theoretical and experimental efforts have been made to explain the dependence of the static wrink^h~g morphology on the materials＇ physical properties, whereas the dy- namic wrinkling process remains elusive. In the present work, we design a wrinkling model consisting of a soft substrate and a graphene-like rigid thin film to investigate this dynamic process. The simulation shows that the whole wrinkling process includes three stages. At the incubation and wrinkling stages, the stress along the horizon direction of the soft substrate transfers to the stiff film. However, at the equilibrium stage, the stress of the rigid film slowly transfers back to the substrate although the total energy still decreases. It is found that the stress of the substrate concentrates at the top surface, especially at the trough, whereas the stress distribution of the film depends on direction. In the perpendicular direc- tion, the stress at the wave＇s equilibrium position surpasses that at the crest and trough and, oppositely, the stress concentrates at the crest and trough in the horizon direction. Present model reproduces both wrinkling and delamination patterns and can be a powerful tool to deeply understand the structure deformation of material induced by stress release.

Coupled hydro-thermo-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracturing in quasi-brittle rocks using BPM-DEM

This paper presents an improved understanding of coupled hydro-thermo-mechanical(HTM) hydraulic fracturing of quasi-brittle rock using the bonded particle model(BPM) within the discrete element method(DEM). BPM has been recently extended by the authors to account for coupled convective econductive heat flow and transport, and to enable full hydro-thermal fluidesolid coupled modeling.The application of the work is on enhanced geothermal systems(EGSs), and hydraulic fracturing of hot dry rock(HDR) is studied in terms of the impact of temperature difference between rock and a flowing fracturing fluid. Micro-mechanical investigation of temperature and fracturing fluid effects on hydraulic fracturing damage in rocks is presented. It was found that fracture is shorter with pronounced secondary microcracking along the main fracture for the case when the convectiveeconductive thermal heat exchange is considered. First, the convection heat exchange during low-viscosity fluid infiltration in permeable rock around the wellbore causes significant rock cooling, where a finger-like fluid infiltration was observed. Second, fluid infiltration inhibits pressure rise during pumping and delays fracture initiation and propagation. Additionally, thermal damage occurs in the whole area around the wellbore due to rock cooling and cold fluid infiltration. The size of a damaged area around the wellbore increases with decreasing fluid dynamic viscosity. Fluid and rock compressibility ratio was found to have significant effect on the fracture propagation velocity.

Time effect and prediction of broken rock bulking coefficient on the base of particle discrete element method

Bulking characteristics of gangue are of great significance for the stability of goafs in mining overburden in the caving zones.In this paper,a particle discrete element method with clusters to represent gangue was adopted to explore the bulking coefficient time effect of the broken rock in the caving zone under three-dimensional triaxial compression condition.The phenomena of stress corrosion,deformation,and failure of rock blocks were simulated in the numerical model.Meanwhile,a new criterion of rock fragments damage was put forward.It was found that the broken rock has obvious viscoelastic properties.A new equation based on the Burgers creep model was proposed to predict the bulking coefficient of broken rock.A deformation characteristic parameter of the prediction equation was analyzed,which can be set as a fixed value in the mid-and long-term prediction of the bulking coefficient.There are quadratic function relationships between the deformation characteristic parameter value and Talbot gradation index,axial pressure and confining pressure.

Studies on aluminum powder combustion in detonation environment

The combustion mechanism of aluminum particles in a detonation environment characterized by high temperature(in unit 10^(3)K),high pressure(in unit GPa),and high-speed motion(in units km/s)was studied,and a combustion model of the aluminum particles in detonation environment was established.Based on this model,a combustion control equation for aluminum particles in detonation environment was obtained.It can be seen from the control equation that the burning time of aluminum particle is mainly affected by the particle size,system temperature,and diffusion coefficient.The calculation result shows that a higher system temperature,larger diffusion coefficient,and smaller particle size lead to a faster burn rate and shorter burning time for aluminum particles.After considering the particle size distribution characteristics of aluminum powder,the application of the combustion control equation was extended from single aluminum particles to nonuniform aluminum powder,and the calculated time corresponding to the peak burn rate of aluminum powder was in good agreement with the experimental electrical conductivity results.This equation can quantitatively describe the combustion behavior of aluminum powder in different detonation environments and provides technical means for quantitative calculation of the aluminum powder combustion process in detonation environment.

Numerical simulation of predicting and reducing solid particle erosion of solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke

Chokes are one of the most important components of downhole flow-control equipment. The particle erosion mathematical model, which considers particle-particle interaction, was established and used to simulate solid particle movement as well as particle erosion characteristics of the solid-liquid two-phase flow in a choke. The corresponding erosion reduction approach by setting ribs on the inner wall of the choke was advanced. This mathematical model includes three parts： the flow field simulation of the continuous carrier fluid by an Eulerian approach, the particle interaction simulation using the discrete particle hard sphere model by a Lagrangian approach and calculation of erosion rate using semiempirical correlations. The results show that particles accumulated in a narrow region from inlet to outlet of the choke and the dominating factor affecting particle motion is the fluid drag force. As a result, the optimization of rib geometrical parameters indicates that good anti-erosion performance can be achieved by four ribs, each of them with a height （H） of 3 mm and a width （B） of 5 mm equaling the interval between ribs （L）.

Multiscale Homogenization Analysis of Alkali–Silica Reaction (ASR) Effect in Concrete

The alkali silica reaction (ASR) is one of the major long-term deterioration mechanisms occurring in con- crete structures subjected to high humidity levels, such as bridges and dams. ASR is a chemical reaction between the silica existing inside the aggregate pieces and the alkali ions from the cement paste. This chemical reaction produces ASR gel, which imbibes additional water, leading to gel swelling. Damage and cracking are subsequently generated in concrete, resulting in degradation of its mechanical proper- ties. In this study, ASR damage in concrete is considered within the lattice discrete particle model (LDPM), a mesoscale mechanical model that simulates concrete at the scale of the coarse aggregate pieces. The authors have already modeled successfully ASR within the LDPM framework and they have calibrated and validated the resulting model, entitled ASR-LDPM, against several experimental data sets. In the pre- sent work, a recently developed multiscale homogenization framework is employed to simulate the macroscale effects of ASR, while ASR-LDPM is utilized as the mesoscale model. First, the homogenized behavior of the representative volume element (RVE) of concrete simulated by ASR-LDPM is studied under both tension and compression, and the degradation of effective mechanical properties due to ASR over time is investigated. Next, the developed homogenization framework is utilized to reproduce experimental data reported on the free volumetric expansion of concrete prisms. Finally, the strength degradation of prisms in compression and four-point bending beams is evaluated by both the mesoscale model and the proposed multiscale approach in order to analyze the accuracy and computational ef - ciency of the latter. In all the numerical analyses, different RVE sizes with different inner particle realiza- tions are considered in order to explore their effects on the homogenized response.

Particle flux through the Huanghai Sea cold water mass

Settling particulate matter （SPM） was collected by using sediment traps at four stations in a survey section from Qingdao to Cheju-do, across the Huanghai Sea cold water mass （HSCWM）, in August 2002. The sediment traps were planted in three layers： the upper layer of the thermocline （ULT） above the HSCWM, the lower layer of the thermocline （LLT）, and the bottom layer of water column （BL）. To determine the particle flux, the contents of organic carbon （POC）, organic nitrogen （PON）, total carbon （PC）, and total phosphorous （PP） in SPM were analyzed, and two flux models （Ⅰ and Ⅱ） were improved to calculate the resuspension ratio, with an assumption in Model Ⅰ that the vertical flux of SPM in the LLT equals the net vertical flux of SPM in the whole water column. An X value, i.e., the fraction of the resuspension flux originating from the surficial sediments nearby the sampling station, was deduced from Model Ⅰ to estimate the contribution of lateral currents to the total resuspension flux. The results showed that inorganic particles, fecal pellets, and miscellaneous aggregates were the major types of SPM in the HSCWM, and the contents of POC, PON, PC, and PP all decreased with water depth. A great deal of fecal pellets found in the LLT indicates that the main space producing biogenic SPM is the thermocline, and especially the LLT, where the C/N ratio is lower than that in the ULT. The resuspension ratios, 90%-96% among stations, imply strong impact ofresuspension on particle flux in the BL. These values were not significantly different between the two flux models, suggesting that the hypothesis in Model Ⅰ that the flux in the LLT equaling the net flux to the bottom is acceptable for shallow waters with stratification like the HSCWM. The POC export ratio from the HSCWM ranges from 35% to 68%. It benefits from the short sinking distance in shallow water. The upwelling in the HSCWM enhanced the POC flux through the water mass, and the lateral currents provides up to being greater than 50% ofresuspension flux in the BL according to evaluation of the X value.

Modeling the influence of forced ventilation on the dispersion of droplets ejected from roadheader-mounted external sprayer

In order to reveal the influence of forced ventilation on the dispersion of droplets ejected from roadheader-mounted external sprayer,the paper studies the air-flowing field and the droplet distribution under the condition of gentle breeze and normal forced ventilation in heading face using the particle tracking technology of computational fluid dynamics(CFD).The results show that air-flowing tendency in the same section presents great comparability in the period of gentle breeze and forced ventilation,and the difference mainly embodies in the different wind velocity.The influence of ventilation on the dispersion of droplets is faint under the gentle breeze condition.The droplet can be evenly distributed around the cutting head.However,under the normal forced ventilation,a large number of droplets will drift to the return air side.At the same time,droplet clusters are predominantly presented in the lower part of windward side and the middle of the leeward side around the cutting head.In contrast,the droplet concentration in other parts around cutting head decreases a lot and the droplets are unable to form close-grained mist curtain.So the dust escape channel is formed.In addition,the simulation results also reveal that the disturbance of air flow on the droplet distribution can be effectively relieved when using ventilation duct with Coanda effect(VDCE).Field experiment results show that the dust suppression efficiency of total dust and respirable dust increases respectively by 10.5%and 9.3%when using VDCE,which proves that it can weaken the influence of airflow on droplet dispersion.

A CFD Model for Fluid Dynamics in a Gas-fluidised Bed

A modified particle bed model derived from the two-fluid momentum balance equations was employed to predict the gas-fluidised bed behaviour. Additional terms are included in both the fluid and the particle momentum balance equations to take into account the effect of the dispersed solid phase. This model has been extended to two-dimensional formulations and has been implemented in the commercial code CFX 4.3. The model correctly simulates the homogeneous fluidisation of Geldart Group A and the bubbling fluidisation of Geldart Group B in gas-solid fluidised beds.

Laboratory Model Tests and DEM Simulations of Unloading-Induced Tunnel Failure Mechanism

Tunnel excavation is a complicated loading-unloading-reloading process characterized by decreased radial stresses and increased axial stresses.An approach that considers only loading,is generally used in tunnel model testing.However,this approach is incapable of characterizing the unloading effects induced by excavation on surrounding rocks and hence presents radial and tangential stress paths during the failure process that are different from the actual stress state of tunnels.This paper carried out a comparative analysis using laboratory model testing and particle flow code(PFC2D)-based numerical simulation,and shed light upon the crack propagation process and,microscopic stress and force chain variations during the loading-unloading process.The failure mode observed in the unloading model test is shear failure.The force chains are strongly correlated with the concrete fracture propagation.In addition,the change patterns of the radial and tangential stresses of surrounding rocks in the broken region,as well as the influence of the initial stress on failure loads are revealed.The surrounding soil of tunnel failure evolution as well as extent and shape of the damage zone during the excavation-induced unloading were also studied.

Research on the mining roadway displacement forecasting based on support vector machine theory

In view of the difficulty in supporting the surrounding rocks of roadway 3-411 ofFucun Coal Mine of Zaozhuang Mining Group, a deformation forecasting model was putforward based on particle swarm optimization.The kernel function and model parameterswere optimized using particle swarm optimization.It is shown that the forecast result isvery close to the real monitoring data.Furthermore, the PSO-SVM (Particle Swarm Optimization-Support Vector Machine) model is compared with the GM(1,1) model and L-M BPnetwork model.The results show that PSO-SVM method is better in the aspect of predictionaccuracy and the PSO-SVM roadway deformation pre-diction model is feasible for thelarge deformation prediction of coal mine roadway.

A novel maneuvering multi-target tracking algorithm based on multiple model particle filter in clutters

To solve the problem of strong nonlinear and motion model switching of maneuvering target tracking system in clutter environment, a novel maneuvering multi-target tracking algorithm based on multiple model particle filter is presented in this paper. The algorithm realizes dynamic combination of multiple model particle filter and joint probabilistic data association algorithm. The rapid expan- sion of computational complexity, caused by the simple combination of the interacting multiple model algorithm and particle filter is solved by introducing model information into the sampling process of particle state, and the effective validation and utilization of echo is accomplished by the joint proba- bilistic data association algorithm. The concrete steps of the algorithm are given, and the theory analysis and simulation results show the validity of the method.

An analytical model for pyrolysis of a single biomass particle

Decreasing in emissions of greenhouse gases to confront the global warming needs to replace fossil fuels as the main doer of the world climate changes by renewable and clean fuels produced from biomass like wood waste which is neutral on the amount of CO2. An analytical and engineering model for pyrolysis process of a single biomass particle has been presented. Using a two-stage semi global kinetic model which includes both primary and secondary reactions, the effects of parameters like shape and size of particle as well as porosity on the particle temperature profile and product yields have been investigated. Comparison of the obtained results with experimental data shows that our results are in a reasonable agreement with previous researchers' works. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is done to determine the importance of each parameter on pyrolysis of a single biomass particle which is affected by many constant parameters.