Open Access

ARTICLE

Flow-Induced Forces in Agglomerates

J.J. Derksen¹, D. Eskin²

1 Chemical & Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2 Schlumberger DBR Technology Center, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2011, 7(4), 341-356. https://doi.org/10.3970/fdmp.2011.007.341

Abstract

Direct simulations of laminar solid-liquid flow in micro-channels with full resolution of the solid-liquid interfaces have been performed. The solids phase consists of simple agglomerates, assembled of monosized, spherical particles. The flow of the interstitial liquid is solved with the lattice-Boltzmann method. Solids and fluid dynamics are two-way coupled. The simulations keep track of the flow-induced forces in the agglomerates. The effects of agglomerate type (doublets, triplets, and quadruplets), solids loading, and channel geometry on (the statistics of the) flow and collision-induced forces have been investigated. By comparing these forces with agglomerate strength, we would be able to assess the potential of micro-channels as agglomerate breakage devices.

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Keywords

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