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Rolling friction measurement of slightly non-spherical particles using direct experiments and image analysis

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Abstract

In absence of any direct measurement method of rolling friction for particles that deviate from perfectly spherical shape, most DEM simulation studies use bulk calibration approach to estimate an acceptable value of this parameter. A novel method based on image analysis of static grains is proposed to calculate the rolling friction coefficient of particles that deviate slightly from the spherical shape. To compare these values obtained from image analysis, direct measurement of the rolling friction coefficient of industrial pellet particles of slightly non-spherical shape is done using two different methods. The first method involves video analysis to track the position of particles rolling over an inclined plane. The second method proposes modifications to the ASTM standard method of rolling friction measurement of spherical particles to enable measurements for slightly non-spherical particles. Results obtained from the image analysis method are found to be in very good agreement with directly measured rolling friction values. Following this approach, it is possible to measure the rolling friction coefficient of particles using image analysis in a manner similar to measuring the particle size distribution. The image analysis method can be utilised for rolling friction estimation in situations where direct measurement is not possible and has potential for wide usage in DEM simulations of the powders and bulk solids.

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Acknowledgements

Funding received from TATA Steel Ltd. for this study through the research grant TATAST/CHE/2016141 is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India

    Arpit Agarwal, Anurag Tripathi, Aman Tripathi & Vimod Kumar

  2. R&D Division, TATA Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, 831007, India

    Arijit Chakrabarty & Samik Nag

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  1. Arpit Agarwal
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  2. Anurag Tripathi
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  5. Arijit Chakrabarty
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Correspondence to Anurag Tripathi.

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Agarwal, A., Tripathi, A., Tripathi, A. et al. Rolling friction measurement of slightly non-spherical particles using direct experiments and image analysis. Granular Matter 23, 60 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-021-01124-3

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