Abstract.

In order to get insight into the wet agglomeration process, we numerically investigate the growth of a single granule inside a dense flow of an initially homogeneous distribution of wet and dry particles. The simulations are performed by means of the discrete element method and the binding liquid is assumed to be transported by the wet particles, which interact via capillary and viscous force laws. The granule size is found to be an exponential function of time, reflecting the conservation of the amount of liquid and the decrease of the number of available wet particles inside the flow during agglomeration. We analyze this behavior in terms of the accretion and erosion rates of wet particles for a range of different values of material parameters such as mean particle size, size polydispersity, friction coefficient and liquid viscosity. In particular, we propose a phase diagram of the granule growth as a function of the mean primary particle diameter and particle size span, which separates the parametric domain in which the granule grows from the domain in which the granule does not survive.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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湿颗粒在致密颗粒状流中的团聚。

摘要。

为了深入了解湿附聚过程，我们在数值上研究了单个颗粒在湿颗粒和干颗粒最初均一分布的密集流中的生长。模拟是通过离散元素方法进行的，并且假定结合液是由湿颗粒传输的，湿颗粒通过毛细管力和粘性力定律相互作用。发现颗粒大小是时间的指数函数，反映了在附聚过程中液体量的守恒和流内部可用湿颗粒数量的减少。对于一系列不同的材料参数值，例如平均粒度，粒度多分散性，摩擦系数和液体粘度，我们根据湿颗粒的吸积和侵蚀速率来分析这种行为。

图形概要