Highly Sensitive Fluorescence Probe Based on Functional SBA-15 for Selective Detection of Hg2+

An inorganic–organic hybrid fluorescence chemosensor (DA/SBA-15) was prepared by covalent immobilization of a dansylamide derivative into the channels of mesoporous silica material SBA-15 via (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) groups. The primary hexagonally ordered mesoporous structure of SBA-15 was preserved after the grafting procedure. Fluorescence characterization shows that the obtained inorganic–organic hybrid composite is highly selective and sensitive to Hg2+ detection, suggesting the possibility for real-time qualitative or quantitative detection of Hg2+ and the convenience for potential application in toxicology and environmental science

Effect of particle shape on bubble dynamics in bubbling fluidized bed

Particle shape can significantly affect the bubble dynamics of bubbling fluidized beds (BFB). In this paper, findings obtained from simulations using CFD-DEM are summarized to discuss the effect of particle shape on bubble dynamics and bubble properties such as bubble size, shape and velocity at a single orifice and uniform fluidized bed. Particles with aspect ratios at 0.5 (oblate), 1 (spherical) and 2 (prolate) are employed to represent disc-like, spherical and rod-like particles, respectively. Both single jet and uniform fluidized bed simulations demonstrate that the bubble forming/rising regions, bubble coalescence locations, and bubble splitting phenomena are significantly influenced by particle shape. The CFD-DEM results for bubble size and bubble velocity show good agreement with literature correlations

A CFD-DEM study of single bubble formation in gas fluidization of spherical and non-spherical particles

Bubble dynamics significantly affect the hydrodynamics of gas-solid fluidized bed since they influence the gas-solid mixing. In this study, simulations using CFD-DEM were carried out to characterize the bubble size and shape for a bubble formed at a single orifice in gas-solid fluidized bed. Impact of parameters such as jet velocity, orifice size and particle shape on bubble equivalent diameter and bubble aspect ratio were analysed and discussed. Bubble equivalent diameter was found to increase with increasing jet velocity, decreasing bed width to orifice width ratio, and particle shape deviating from spherical. The bubble shape illustrated by aspect ratio, was found to elongate more as it rise through the bed and then commence to expand horizontally after it was detached from the orifice. Aspect ratio was found to be closer to a circle for the bubble at higher jet velocity, lower orifice width to bed ratio and for non-spherical particles

DEM Simulation of Particle Stratification and Segregation in Stockpile Formation

Granular stockpiles are commonly observed in nature and industry, and their formation has been extensively investigated experimentally and mathematically in the literature. One of the striking features affecting properties of stockpiles are the internal patterns formed by the stratification and segregation processes. In this work, we conduct a numerical study based on DEM (discrete element method) model to study the influencing factors and triggering mechanisms of these two phenomena. With the use of a previously developed mixing index, the effects of parameters including size ratio, injection height and mass ratio are investigated. We found that it is a void-filling mechanism that differentiates the motions of particles with different sizes. This mechanism drives the large particles to flow over the pile surface and segregate at the pile bottom, while it also pushes small particles to fill the voids between large particles, giving rise to separate layers. Consequently, this difference in motion will result in the observed stratification and segregation phenomena

A new computational method for studying heat transfer in fluid bed reactors

Effective thermal conductivity (ETC) is an important parameter describing the thermal behaviour of packed beds with a stagnant or dynamic fluid, and has been extensively examined in the past decades. Recently, an approach of coupled discrete particle simulation (DPS) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been extended to predict the ETC, allowing the elucidation of the underlying heat transfer mechanisms at a particle scale. However, because of the sensitivity of heat transfer to particle-particle contact, a large Young\u27s modulus and small time step have to be employed in the DPS to generate accurate results, resulting in a high computational cost. This paper proposed a method to overcome this problem. It is done by introducing a correction coefficient in the calculation of the particle- particle contact radius between colliding particles. The treatment is first implemented in our recent DPS-CFD modeling of the heat transfer in gas fluidization, and is validated by comparing the predicted ETC with literature data. The effects of model parameters, particle size, and bed average temperature on ETC are also analyzed

Vibration induced segregation of single large particles

The vibration-induced segregation (e.g., rising of one large intruder - so called Brazil Nut Effect (BNE)) is studied by discrete element method. Vibration frequency and amplitude are two dominating factors in the occurrence of BNE and a phase diagram is constructed. For fixed vibration amplitude, segregation only occurs when vibration frequency is within a certain range. Larger vibration amplitude can expand the range of vibration frequency for BNE. Size ratio and the intruder shape are studied under certain vibration conditions. Larger size ratio can enlarge the segregation intensity. The shape of the intruder influences the segregation process by the intruder′s orientation. Standing-like initial orientation can increase the time required for the intruder to reach the top while lying-like initial orientation cannot significantly affect the vertical segregation

Transverse mixing of ellipsoidal particles in a rotating drum

Rotating drums are widely used in industry for mixing, milling, coating and drying processes. In the past decades, mixing of granular materials in rotating drums has been extensively investigated, but most of the studies are based on spherical particles. Particle shape has an influence on the flow behaviour and thus mixing behaviour, though the shape effect has as-yet received limited study. In this work, discrete element method (DEM) is employed to study the transverse mixing of ellipsoidal particles in a rotating drum. The effects of aspect ratio and rotating speed on mixing quality and mixing rate are investigated. The results show that mixing index increases exponentially with time for both spheres and ellipsoids. Particles with various aspect ratios are able to reach well-mixed states after sufficient revolutions in the rolling or cascading regime. Ellipsoids show higher mixing rate when rotational speed is set between 25 and 40 rpm. The relationship between mixing rate and aspect ratio of ellipsoids is established, demonstrating that, particles with aspect ratios of 0.5 and 2.0 achieve the highest mixing rates. Increasing rotating speed from 15 rpm to 40 rpm does not necessarily increase the mixing speed of spheres, while monotonous increase is observed for ellipsoids