Investigating Wet Particles Systems (Plenary talk)

In this talk we will present our current work on particles made cohesive through the existence of liquid bridges. We will present some rheological studies and some numerical simulations all aimed at elucidating the role that liquid bridges play on the â flowabilityâ of particles. We also discuss the modelling efforts and how they could help bridge the gap between the particle and the equipment scale. Whilst we recognise that quasi-static and rapid flows rely on well established theories, the intermediate regime between those two limits is still not well understood. The models presented are aimed to elucidate the physics responsible for the bulk properties of powders flowing at the intermediate regime; the bulk properties strongly affect the performance of powders at the equipment scale. As an example, in slightly wet particles, the liquid bridges between particles reduce the inter-particle friction (lubrication) by switching the frictional contacts to fluid shear resistance. We use a shear cell apparatus to characterise powder stresses. The experimental results are compared with discrete element modelling simulation results. Finally, we use these results to propose coarse-grained models for large-scale applications.Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor affiliation: Heriot-Watt UniversityFacult