Effect of particle shape on packing fraction and velocity profiles at outlet of a silo

Many studies on how the particle shape affects the discharge flow mainly focus on discharge rates and avalanche statistics. In this study, the effect of the particle shape on the packing fraction and velocities of particles in the silo discharge flow are investigated by using the discrete element method. The time-averaged packing fraction and velocity profiles through the aperture are systematically measured for superelliptical particles with different blockinesses. Increasing the particle blockiness is found to increase resistance to flow and reduce the flow rate. At an identical outlet size, larger particle blockiness leads to lower velocity and packing fraction at the outlet. The packing fraction profiles display evidently the self-similar feature that can be appropriately adjusted by fractional power law. The velocity profiles for particles with different shapes obey a uniform self-similar law that is in accord with previous experimental results, which is compatible with the hypothesis of free fall arch. To further investigate the origin of flow behaviors, the packing fraction and velocity field in the region above the orifice are computed. Based on these observations, the flow rate of superelliptical particles is calculated and in agreement with the simulated data.

Measurement of oil volume fraction and velocity distributions in vertical oil-in-water flows using ERT and a local probe

This paper presents the use of a high performance dual-plane electrical resistance tomography (ERT) system and a local dual-sensor conductance probe to measure the vertical upward oil-in-water pipe flows in which the mean oil volume fraction is up to 23.1%. A sensitivity coefficient back-projection (SBP) algorithm was adopted to reconstruct the flow distributions and a cross correlation method was applied to obtain the oil velocity distributions. The oil volume fraction and velocity distributions obtained from both measurement techniques were compared and good agreement was found, which indicates that the ERT tech- nique can be used to measure the low fraction oil-water flows. Finally, the factors affecting measurement precision were discussed.

Influences of nanotwin volume fraction on the ballistic performance of coarse-grained metals

Coarse-grained（CG） metals strengthened by nanotwinned（NT） regions possess high strength and good ductility. As such, they are very suitable for applications in bullet-proof targets. Here, a numerical model based on the conventional theory of strain gradient plasticity and the Johnson–Cook failure criterion is employed to study the influences of volume fraction of NT regions on their ballistic performance.The results show that in general a relatively small twin spacing（4–10 nm） and a moderate volume fraction（7%–20%） will lead to excellent limit velocity and that the influences of volume fraction on limit displacement change with the category of impact processes.

Exact solution for the rotational flow of a generalized second grade fluid in a circular cylinder

This paper deals with the rotational flow of a generalized second grade fluid, within a circular cylinder, due to a torsional shear stress. The fractional calculus approach in the constitutive relationship model of a second grade fluid is introduced. The velocity field and the resulting shear stress are determined by means of the Laplace and finite Hankel transforms to satisfy all imposed initial and boundary conditions. The solutions corresponding to second grade fluids as well as those for Newtonian fluids are obtained as limiting cases of our general solutions. The influence of the fractional coefficient on the velocity of the fluid is also analyzed by graphical illustrations.

Effect of volume-contraction on incipient fluidization of binary-solid mixtures

Towards the development of a predictive model for computing the minimum fluidization velocity, the volume-contraction phenomenon arising from the mixing of unequal solid species is accounted for in the prediction of the bed void fraction of binary-solid mixtures at the incipient fluidization conditions. Com- parison with experimental data obtained from the literature clearly shows that significantly improved predictions are obtained except for cases where the stratification pattern whether arising from the slow defluidization or the difference in the densities of the two species affects the mixing of the constituent species.

Predicting minimum fluidization velocities of multi-component solid mixtures

Employing well-established mixing rules for mean properties, appropriate expressions are derived for predicting minimum fluidization velocities of multi-component solid mixtures in terms of mono- component values for the velocity and the bed voidage at incipient fluidization. Based on flow regime and the mixing level of constituent species, it is found that these relationships differ significantly from each other, whether related to size-different or density-different mixtures. For mixed beds of size-different mixtures, the effect of volume contraction is accounted for by the mean voidage term, which is absent for segregated beds. Incorporating the volume-change of mixing leads to values of the mixture minimum fluidization velocities even lower than corresponding values for segregated bed, thus conforming to the trend reported in the literature. Size-different mixtures exhibit flow regime dependence irrespective of whether the bed is mixed or segregated. On the other hand, the mixing of constituent species does not affect the minimum fiuidization velocity of density-different mixtures, as the difference in the expres- sions for a segregated and a mixed system is rather inconsequential. Comparison with experimental data available in the literature is made to test the efficacy of the minimum fluidization velocity expressions derived here.