Analysis of the flowability of cohesive powders using Distinct Element Method

Computer simulations using Distinct Element Method (DEM) have been carried out to investigate the effect of cohesion on the flowability of polydisperse particulate systems. For this purpose, two assemblies with different values of surface energy and made of 3000 spheres with the mechanical properties of glass beads were considered. The analysis of the flowability of the powders is presented in terms of the unconfined yield stress as a function of strain rate for different pre-consolidation loads. For values of the surface energy of 1.0 J/m2 and strain rates lower than 6 s− 1, the unconfined yield stress does not change significantly indicating a quasi-static behaviour of the particulate assemblies during the compression process. For larger strain rates, the unconfined yield stress varies with the power index of 1.2 of the strain rate. The influence of the pre-consolidating stress on the powder behaviour has also been investigated and a flow factor was obtained from the linear relationship between the unconfined yield stress and pre-consolidation stress. The computer simulations show qualitatively a good agreement with the experimental trends on highly cohesive powder flow behaviour

Analysis of the effect of cohesion and gravity on the bulk behaviour of powders using Discrete Element Method

Computer simulations using Distinct Element Method have been carried out to analyse the bulk behaviour of a polydisperse assembly of glass beads. For this purpose an assembly made of 3000 spheres were generated to which the mechanical properties of glass beads were assigned. The system was initially compressed isotropically at a strain rate of 1 s-1 in the absence of gravity and surface energy. Once the assembly reached a packing fraction of about 0.62, the effects of cohesion and gravity on the bulk behaviour were analysed for two different cases. In the first case only gravity was applied, whilst in the second case both gravity and surface energy were acting on the particles. The evolution of the components of the stress tensor for the case in which only gravity was applied indicated that the gravity did not appreciably affect the isotropy of the system. In contrast, the system in which surface energy was introduced became anisotropic. The concept of unconfined yield stress of bulk cohesive powders was used to analyse the effect of surface energy and strain rate. For values of surface energy of 1.0 J/m2 and of strain rate lower than 1 s-1 the unconfined yield strength did not change significantly indicating a quasi-static behaviour for the compression process. However, for values of strain rates larger than 1 s-1 the unconfined yield strength increased with the strain rate, following a power law trend with an index of 1.7

Application of Particle Image Velocimetry in the Analysis of Scale Effects in Granular Soil

The available studies in the literature which dealt with the scale effects of strip footings on different sand packing systematically still remain scarce. In this research, the variation of ultimate bearing capacity and deformation pattern of soil beneath strip footings of different widths under plane-strain condition on the surface of loose, medium-dense and dense sand have been systematically studied using experimental and a noninvasive method for measuring microscopic deformations. The presented analyses are based on model scale compression test analysed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Upper bound analysis of the current study shows that the maximum vertical displacement of the sand under the ultimate load increases for an increase in the width of footing, but at a decreasing rate with relative density of sand, whereas the relative vertical displacement in the sand decreases for an increase in the width of the footing. A good agreement is observed between experimental results for different footing widths and relative densities. The experimental analyses have shown that there exists pronounced scale effect for strip surface footing. The bearing capacity factors Nγ rapidly decrease up to footing widths B=0.25 m, 0.35 m, and 0.65 m for loose, medium-dense and dense sand respectively, after that there is no significant decrease in Nγ. The deformation modes of the soil as well as the ultimate bearing capacity values have been affected by the footing widths. The obtained results could be used to improve settlement calculation of the foundation interacting with granular soil

Application of Digital Particle Image Velocimetry in the Analysis of Scale Effects in Granular Soil

The available studies in the literature which dealt with the scale effects of strip footings on different sand packing systematically still remain scarce. In this research, the variation of ultimate bearing capacity and deformation pattern of soil beneath strip footings of different widths under plane-strain condition on the surface of loose, medium-dense and dense sand have been systematically studied using experimental and noninvasive methods for measuring microscopic deformations. The presented analyses are based on model scale compression test analysed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Upper bound analysis of the current study shows that the maximum vertical displacement of the sand under the ultimate load increases for an increase in the width of footing, but at a decreasing rate with relative density of sand, whereas the relative vertical displacement in the sand decreases for an increase in the width of the footing. A well agreement is observed between experimental results for different footing widths and relative densities. The experimental analyses have shown that there exists pronounced scale effect for strip surface footing. The bearing capacity factors Nγ rapidly decrease up to footing widths B=0.25 m, 0.35 m, and 0.65 m for loose, medium-dense and dense sand respectively, after that there is no significant decrease in Nγ. The deformation modes of the soil as well as the ultimate bearing capacity values have been affected by the footing widths. The obtained results could be used to improve settlement calculation of the foundation interacting with granular soil

Fabrics-Shear Strength Links of Silicon-Based Granular Assemblies

Silicon (Si)-based materials are sought in different engineering applications including Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, Materials, Energy and Minerals engineering. Silicon and Silicon dioxide are processed extensively in the industries in granular form, for example to develop durable concrete, shock and fracture resistant materials, biological, optical, mechanical and electronic devices which offer significant advantages over existing technologies. Here we focus on the constitutive behaviour of Si-based granular materials under mechanical shearing. In the recent times, it is widely recognised in the literature that the microscopic origin of shear strength in granular assemblies are associated with their ability to establish anisotropic networks (fabrics) comprising strong-force transmitting inter-particle contacts under shear loading. Strong contacts pertain to the relatively small number of contacts carrying greater than the average normal contact force. However, information on how such fabrics evolve in Si-based assemblies under mechanical loading, and their link to bulk shear strength of such assemblies are scarce in the literature. Using discrete element method (DEM), here we present results on how Si-based granular assemblies develop shear strength and their internal fabric structures under bi-axial quasi-static compression loading. Based on the analysis, a simple constitutive relation is presented for the bulk shear strength of the Si-based assemblies relating with their internal fabric anisotropy of the heavily loaded contacts. These findings could help to develop structure-processing property relations of Si-based materials in future, which originate at the microscale

Visualising shear stress distribution inside flow geometries containing pharmaceutical powder excipients using photo stress analysis tomography and DEM simulations

For the first time, photo stress analysis tomography (PSAT) is applied to probe the distribution of maximum shear stress and direction of major principal stress field within 'powder' assemblies inside hopper geometries, and further supported by discrete element model (DEM) simulations. The results show that for decrease in hopper angle, the direction of major principle stress aligns with the direction of gravity which could promote flow rate under dynamic conditions. Conversely, the propensity of developing relatively more non-homogeneous distribution of shear resistance zones inside powder assemblies increases with the hopper angle, which could subsequently decrease their macroscopic flow rate

Influence of size and temperature on the phase stability and thermophysical properties of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles: molecular dynamics simulation

Nanoparticles have attracted the attention of researchers in a number of multidisciplinary fields as they possess enhanced structural and physical properties, which make them desirable to a wide range of industries. These enhancements have mostly been attributed to their large surface area-to-volume ratio. However, the effect of temperature on the structural and surface properties of nanoparticles of different sizes is still not well understood, an aspect addressed in the present work. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we have performed investigations on anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with sizes ranging between 2 and 6 nm and at different temperatures. Structural and surface properties including surface energies are reported for the different nanoparticle sizes, temperature and simulation time step. Comparisons of surface energies for the different nanoparticle sizes show that surface energy increases to a maximum(optimum value) especially for temperatures between 300 and 1,500 K, as the particle size increases after which no further significant increase is observed. Studies conducted on the change of final structure with respect to the initial structure of the particles, revealed that atomic structural disordering is more visible at the surface layer compared to the bulk or core of the final structure. Further studies conducted on the sphericity of the nanoparticles showed that the particles became less spherical with increase in temperature

Flow behaviour of grains through the dosing station of spacecraft under low gravity environments

For the design of the grain-processing stations of spacecrafts, such as EXOMARS 2020, reliable estimates are required on the internal and bulk flow characteristics of granular media under the low gravitational environments. Using theoretical and computational modelling, here we present results on the generic flow behaviour of granular materials through flow channels under different gravity levels. For this, we use three approaches, viz., (i) a simple one-dimensional discrete layer approach (DLA) based on hybrid-Lagrange continuum analysis (ii) three dimensional Kirya structural continuum model and (iii) three dimensional discrete element modelling (DEM). Each model has its merits and limitations. For the granular simulant considered here, a good level of agreement is obtained between the results of Kirya model and DEM simulations on the flow properties of the grains. Some qualitative comparisons are also reported favourably on the flow characteristics of grains between the results of the experimental parabolic flight campaign and the DEM simulations. The theoretical and DEM simulations presented here could help to minimise relying on the complex experimental programmes, such as the parabolic flight campaign, for evaluating the processing behaviour of grains under low gravitational environments in future

Flow behaviour of grains through the dosing station of spacecraft under low gravity environments

For the design of the grain-processing stations of spacecrafts, such as EXOMARS 2020, reliable estimates are required on the internal and bulk flow characteristics of granular media under the low gravitational environments. Using theoretical and computational modelling, here we present results on the generic flow behaviour of granular materials through flow channels under different gravity levels. For this, we use three approaches, viz., (i) a simple one-dimensional discrete layer approach (DLA) based on hybrid-Lagrange continuum analysis (ii) three dimensional Kirya structural continuum model and (iii) three dimensional discrete element modelling (DEM). Each model has its merits and limitations. For the granular simulant considered here, a good level of agreement is obtained between the results of Kirya model and DEM simulations on the flow properties of the grains. Some qualitative comparisons are also reported favourably on the flow characteristics of grains between the results of the experimental parabolic flight campaign and the DEM simulations. The theoretical and DEM simulations presented here could help to minimise relying on the complex experimental programmes, such as the parabolic flight campaign, for evaluating the processing behaviour of grains under low gravitational environments in future

Displacement Fields in Footing-Sand Interactions under Cyclic Loading

Soils are subjected to cyclic loading in situ in situations such as during earthquakes and in the compaction of pavements. Investigations on the local scale measurement of the displacements of the grain and failure patterns within the soil bed under the cyclic loading conditions are rather limited. In this paper, using the digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV), local scale displacement fields of a dense sand medium interacting with a rigid footing are measured under the plane-strain condition for two commonly used types of cyclic loading, and the quasi-static loading condition for the purposes of comparison. From the displacement measurements of the grains, the failure envelopes of the sand media are also presented. The results show that, the ultimate cyclic bearing capacity (qultcyc) occurred corresponding to a relatively higher settlement value when compared with that of under the quasi-static loading. For the sand media under the cyclic loading conditions considered here, the displacement fields in the soil media occurred more widely in the horizontal direction and less deeper along the vertical direction when compared with that of under the quasi-static loading. The 'dead zone' in the sand grains beneath the footing is identified for all types of the loading conditions studied here. These grain-scale characteristics have implications on the resulting bulk bearing capacity of the sand media in footing-sand interaction problems