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.

Characteristics of settling of dilute suspension of particles with different density at high Reynolds numbers

Dilute suspension of particles with same density and size develops clusters when settle at high Reynolds number(≥250).It is due to particles entrapment in the wakes produced by upstream particles.In this work,this phenomenon is studied for suspension having particles with different densities by numerical simulations.The particle-fluid interactions are modelled using immersed boundary method and inter-particle collisions are modelled using discrete element method.In simulations,settling Reynolds number is always kept above 250 and the suspension solid volume fraction is nearly 0.1 percent.Two particle density ratios(i.e.density of heavy particles to lighter particles)equal to 4:1 and 2:1 and particles with same density are studied.For each density ratio,the percentage volume fraction of each particle density is nearly varied from 0.8 to 0.2.Settling characteristics such as microstructures of settling particle,average settling velocity and velocity fluctuations of settling particles are studied.Simulations show that for different density particles settling characteristics of suspension is largely dominated by heavy particles.At the end of paper,the underlying physics is explained for the anomalies observed in simulation.

The Effect of Particle Shape on the Structure and Rheological Properties of Carbon-based Particle Suspensions

The structure and rheological properties of carbon-based particle suspensions, i.e., carbon black（CB）, multi-wall carbon nanotube（MWNT）, graphene and hollow carbon sphere（HCS） suspended in polydimethylsiloxane（PDMS）, are investigated. In order to study the effect of particle shape on the structure and rheological properties of suspensions, the content of surface oxygen-containing functional groups of carbon-based particles is controlled to be similar. Original spherical-like CB（fractal filler）, rod-like MWNT and sheet-like graphene form large agglomerates in PDMS, while spherical HCS particles disperse relatively well in PDMS. The dispersion state of carbon-based particles affects the critical concentration of forming a rheological percolation network. Under weak shear, negative normal stress differences（ΔN） are observed in CB, MWNT and graphene suspensions, while ΔN is nearly zero for HCS suspensions. It is concluded that the vorticity alignment of CB, MWNT and graphene agglomerates under shear results in the negative ΔN. However, no obvious structural change is observed in HCS suspension under weak shear, and accordingly, the ΔN is almost zero.