Numerical study of agglomerate abrasion in a tumbling mixer

A numerical simulation using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) was performed to investigate the phenomena concerning the abrasion and breakage of agglomerates in a diffusion powder mixer. Agglomerates were created by defining a single structure of particles with bonds of different strengths using the Bonded Particle Model (BPM). By comparing the agglomerate size reduction calculated by intact and broken bonds with that agglomerate size calculated by particle number, it was possible to differentiate abrasion and breakage behavior of the agglomerate in the system. The DEM simulations gave support to earlier investigations which concluded that definition of a Stoke abrasion number is a valid approach to predict agglomerate abrasion in a powder blending system. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.