This paper explores the mechanism of force chain evolution and voidage change under vibrational and non-vibrational compression conditions of rice straw of different lengths. Simulations were used to explore the force chain evolution and voidage variation mechanism under different conditions. The results show that under non-vibrational compression, the strong force chain passes from top to bottom in vertical direction and from center to periphery in tangential direction. Under vibrational compression, the force chain passes from top and bottom to center in vertical direction and the force chain evolves from outer ring to interior and exterior in tangential direction. The number of strong chains, voidage and standard deviation of the mean pressure under vibratory compression are lower than the values under non-vibratory compression. Vibration promotes stress transfer and enhancement, velocity enhancement and density enhancement. This study analyzes the mechanical properties of different lengths straw during vibrational and non-vibrational compression from a detailed viewpoint.

Humic-like substances (HULIS) are a major component of brown carbon and consequently play a major role in climate change. In this study, 70 p.m.2.5 samples were collected from Xi'an in winter 2019 and summer 2020. Neutral HULIS (HULIS-n), acidic HULIS (HULIS-a), and high-polarity water-soluble organic compounds (HP–WSOC) were analyzed to determine their carbon concentrations and measure their ultraviolet–visible absorption and infrared spectra. Of the three components, HULIS-n had the highest carbon content in both winter (3.29 ± 1.45 μg m−3) and in summer (1.38 ± 1.10 μg m−3). The semiquantitative results for the functional groups revealed that HP-WSOC was rich in carboxylic acids and had high aromaticity in winter, whereas HULIS-n was rich in carboxylic acids in summer. Moreover, HULIS-a was richer in nitrate esters and saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons in summer than in winter. The results for specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) and E250/E365 revealed that HULIS had higher molecular weight and aromaticity in winter than in summer. HULIS-n dominated in the total light absorption of HULIS + HP-WSOC in both winter (73.08%) and summer (48.57%). Overall, the results on the carbon content, optical properties, and functional groups of WSOCs with differing polarity can improve understanding of environmental and climatic effects.

This paper presents the study of the dynamic characteristics of confined mixed pebble beds with different friction under different vibration conditions using the discrete element method. The λ segregation index is used to quantify the degree of particle mixing or segregation. The percolation, convection and diffusion mechanisms are responsible for the segregation patterns of the mixed pebble. The results show the degree of segregation can be suppressed by decreasing the vibration acceleration or free space height below a threshold. Further simulation reveals the threshold of vibration acceleration or free space height both are related to the bed height increment which determines the strength of the percolation mechanism. In addition, the strength of percolation and convection becomes weaker by decreasing the friction of particles and walls, which makes the pebbled bed remains in a mixed state under vibration. These findings are significant to clarify the main factors behind the three segregation mechanisms and hence provide solutions to retaining the mixed state of the Li2TiO3&Be12Ti mixed pebble bed.

In this work, the formation mechanism of the droplet-to-granule was investigated in detail based on mold powder manufacturing. A specific mathematical model of two-stage spray drying was established to describe droplet and granule motion, heat and mass transfer, and granule morphology during spray drying. Then, the relationships between spray drying parameters (inlet temperature, atomization pressure, slurry mass flow rate) and the properties of the drying tower (temperature and velocity fields) and mold powder granules (temperature, evaporation rates, moisture content, and diameter) were simulated and calculated using ANSYS/Fluent software. To ensure that the granule size of mold powder was controlled within the ideal range (0.2–0.6 mm) for producing granules with appropriate mechanical and metallurgical properties, the following optimum spray drying parameters were chosen based on the results of the numerical simulation: inlet temperatures, 873 K; slurry atomization pressure, 1.8 MPa; slurry mass flow rate, 0.05 kg s−1. Among these parameters, the slurry mass flow rate has the most significant effect on granule size.

Elucidating the intricate correlation between calendering, structure, and performance is crucial to comprehending the relationship between performance parameters and process steps of Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Discrete element method (DEM) simulations were adopted in this work to calculate the interparticle force and stress tensor under incremental calendering process conditions, which revealed the effect of the anisotropy of complex contact force network on the anisotropy of heat transfer within porous electrode. The thermal conductivity of electrode was predicted using porosity to characterize the process–structure–performance correlation. The comprehensive influence of contact number and contact area between particles and current collector determines the magnitude of interfacial thermal resistance and interfacial heat transfer coefficient. For the first time, this work quantitatively analyzed the structural mechanics and heat transfer mechanism during calendering process of porous electrodes, and the results indicate a promising way to optimize and design battery electrode structures.

In industry, multiple hearth furnaces are used for the thermal treatment of particulate material. The current contribution concentrates on the experimental analysis of particle mechanics for a batch-operated single floor of a multiple hearth furnace. The particles are agitated on the circular floor by a single, rotating rabble arm equipped with three flat rabble blades of 10 mm thickness. The blade angle, defined as the angle, which the blade is inclined against the tangential direction, is varied from 0° to 90°. A single layer of spherical polyoxymethylene (POM) particles with three different diameters (5, 10 and 20 mm) is placed on the floor. To analyze the results, two parameters have been extracted from image analysis when the bed of particles is agitated, first, the area not covered by particles and second, the frequency distribution of the mean distance among the particles. The particle free surface area increases with the inclination of the blades. The evolution of the particle free surface area differs for the different particle diameters. In general, the maximum particle free area for all blade angles is the largest for the 5 mm particles followed by the 20 mm particles. For the 10 mm particles, the particle free surface area starts for a blade angle of 0° at larger values than for the 20 mm particles but the values fall below the values for the 20 mm particles for larger blade angles. The reason for this behavior is discussed in detail. The mean distance among the particles is a parameter characterizing the length scales dominating the effects on the floor. The frequency distribution of the mean distance among particles provides information about the morphology of the particle bulk, for example, whether the free surface area is interspersed with particles.

The use of high-fidelity Discrete Element Method (DEM) coupled with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for particle-scale simulations demands extensive simulation times and restricts application to small particulate systems. DEM-CFD simulations require good performance and satisfactory scalability on high-performance computing platforms. A reliable parallel computing strategy must be developed to calculate the collision forces, since collisions can occur between particles that are not on the same processor, or even across processors whose domains are disjoint. The present paper describes a parallelization technique and a numerical verification study based on a number of tests that allow for the assessment of the numerical performance of DEM used in conjunction with Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) to model dense flows in fluidized beds. The fluid phase is computed through solving the volume-averaged four-way coupling Navier-Stokes equations, in which the Smagorinsky sub-grid scale tensor model is used. Furthermore, the performance of Sub-Grid Scale (SGS) turbulence models applied to Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) configurations has been assessed and compared. The developed numerical solver represents an interesting combination of techniques that work well for the present purpose of studying particle formation in fluidized beds.

The particle gradation of sand has a significant influence on its shear strength, yet the similarities and differences between the effects of continuous and gap grading have yet to be fully explored. In this study, the discrete element method (DEM) was used to simulate biaxial tests on granular samples that were both continuously graded and gap-graded. The macroscopic analysis revealed that the shear strength of continuously graded sands increases initially and then decreases as the uniformity of particle size distribution decreases. On the other hand, the lack of medium particles in gap-graded sands amplifies the difference in particle size between coarse and fine particles, leading to a decrease in shear strength. Microscopically, both continuous and gap gradings affect the internal packing structure of the particle assembly, which consequently affects particle stress distributions, contact forces, coordination numbers, stress-induced anisotropies, and contact force networks, thus having an impact on the macroscopic shear strength. The global uniformity of particle size distribution was unidirectionally affected by continuous grading, while gap grading had a locally bidirectional influence. These findings provide a better understanding of the effects of particle grading on the macroscopic shear strength of sands.

Nowadays, the design of fixed packed bed reactors still relies on empirical correlations, which, especially for small tube to particle diameter ratios, are mostly too inaccurate because of the presence of wall effects. Therefore, the simulation of fixed packed bed reactors plays an important role to predict and control the flow and process parameters in such, nowadays and in the future. Because of its straightforward applicability to non-uniform packings with particles of arbitrary shapes, the immersed boundary method (IBM) has advantages over other numerical methods and is used more and more frequently. This paper compares two approaches of IBMs for the simulation of fixed bed reactors with spherical shaped particles. The classic, smooth approach is compared to the straightforward to implement blocked-off method for velocity fields above the fixed bed for particle Reynolds numbers of 300 and 500. Results from experimental inline PIV-measurements of the reactor to be simulated serve as a basis for comparison. Very good agreement with the experiment is found for both simulation methodologies with higher resolutions, considering the more stable flow at a particle Reynolds number of 300. Differences in the different IBM approaches occurred for the more unsteady flow at a particle Reynolds number of 500. Compared to the blocked-off method, the smooth IBM reflects the formation of additional jets and recirculation zones better right above the bed, though increasing the fluid mesh resolution improves the accuracy of the blocked-off method. Overall, a more diffusive behaviour is found for the blocked-off simulations due to the stairstep representation, which is avoided by using interpolation stencils as in the smooth IBM. With higher mesh refinement in the blocked-off IBM this effect can be reduced, but this also increases the computational effort.

This study investigates the interaction between a premixed methane-air flame and particles inside a model packed bed. The opacity of the spherical packed beds to visible light poses a major barrier to the implementation of highly resolved optical diagnostics, so that no detailed experimental data were so far available for the validation of numerical simulation. Here, a two-dimensional cylindrical packed bed design is set up, which enables direct line-of-sight optical measurements without loss of spatial resolution over the fluid region between the particles. In this study, the case of cold metallic cylindrical particles (T = 377 K) relevant to start-up of a reactor is investigated using internal particle cooling, which also allows cylinder specific heat transfer rate measurements by differential temperature measurements on the coolant streams. The two dimensional assumption is first verified by measuring the inflow velocity and cylinder temperature profile along the cylinders. Chemiluminescence imaging is then performed using a telecentric lens to observe the position and geometry of the two-dimensional flame front with respect to the surrounding cylinders without loss of resolution. Simultaneously, the cylinder-specific flame to cylinder heat transfer rates and cylinder surface temperature are measured. As the flame is closely surrounded by the three cooled cylinders, intense heat transfer is observed in this region corresponding to 25 ± 2.5% of the flame thermal power. Flames were stabilised at different positions depending on inflow velocity and equivalence ratio, and a direct correlation between flame to cylinder stand-off distance and the heat transfer rate normalised to the flame thermal power was found for both top and side cylinders. Also, sidewall quenching distances to the curved cylinder surfaces were evaluated, and seem to be influenced by the presence of a warm recirculation zone behind the cylinders. This investigation provides fully resolved flame front position and heat transfer rates for a known geometry and cylinder thermal boundary conditions, and provides validation data for numerical simulations of this high flame particle coupling case.

Particle mixing and segregation are common phenomena in rotary drums, which are challenging to be controlled and driven artificially in powder technology. In this work, the discrete element method (DEM) was applied to construct the novel rotary drum composed of different shaped curved sidewalls. By varying the operation parameters of particle and sidewall shapes as well as the length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio of drums, the axial mixing and segregation processes of binary size-induced particles were investigated. The results show that the axial flow velocity of the particle mixtures is noticeably weakened once the particle angularity increases, making the non-spherical particles to mix better in rotary drums compared to the spherical particles. Besides, in the short drums with size-induced spherical particles, the axial segregation characteristics are significantly enhanced by the convex sidewalls while suppressed by the concave sidewalls. However, for size-induced non-spherical particles, the axial segregation structure can be present in rotary drums with plane and concave sidewalls while not in drums with convex sidewalls. Moreover, the axial segregation band structure of spherical particles eventually increases proportionally with the increased drum L/D ratios. In contrast, the non-spherical particles cannot form obvious multi-proportional segregation bands.

Bubble dynamics properties play a crucial and significant role in the design and optimization of gas-solid fluidized beds. In this study, the bubble dynamics properties of four B-particles were investigated in a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) fluidized bed, including bubble equivalent diameter, bubble size distribution, average bubble density, bubble aspect ratio, bubble hold-up, bed expansion ratio, bubble radial position, and bubble velocity. The studies were performed by computational particle fluid dynamics (CPFD) numerical simulation and post-processed with digital image analysis (DIA) technique, at superficial gas velocities ranging from 2umf to 7umf. The simulated results shown that the CPFD simulation combining with DIA technique post-processing could be used as a reliable method for simulating bubble dynamics properties in quasi-2D gas-solid fluidized beds. However, it seemed not desirable for the simulation of bubble motion near the air distributor at higher superficial gas velocity from the simulated average bubble density distribution. The superficial gas velocity significantly affected the bubble equivalent diameter and evolution, while it had little influence on bubble size distribution and bubble aspect ratio distribution for the same particles. Both time-averaged bubble hold-up and bed expansion ratio increased with the increase of superficial gas velocity. Two core-annular flow structures could be found in the fluidized bed for all cases. The average bubble rising velocity increased with the increasing bubble equivalent diameter. For bubble lateral movement, the smaller bubbles might be more susceptible, and superficial gas velocity had a little influence on the absolute lateral velocity of bubbles. The simulated results presented a valuable and novel approach for studying bubble dynamics properties. The comprehensive understanding of bubble dynamics behaviors in quasi-2D gas-solid fluidized beds would provide support in the design, operation, and optimization of gas-solid fluidized bed reactors.

As one of the most rapidly expanding materials, hydrogels have gained increasing attention in a variety of fields due to their biocompatibility, degradability and hydrophilic properties, as well as their remarkable adhesion and stretchability to adapt to different surfaces. Hydrogels combined with carbon-based materials possess enhanced properties and new functionalities, in particular, conductive hydrogels have become a new area of research in the field of materials science. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview and up-to-date examination of recent developments in the synthesis, properties and applications of conductive hydrogels incorporating several typical carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon dots and carbon nanofibers. We summarize key techniques and mechanisms for synthesizing various composite hydrogels with exceptional properties, and represented applications such as wearable sensors, temperature sensors, supercapacitors and human-computer interaction reported recently. The mechanical, electrical and sensing properties of carbon nanoparticles conductive hydrogels are thoroughly analyzed to disclose the role of carbon nanoparticles in these hydrogels and key factors in the microstructure. Finally, future development of conductive hydrogels based on carbon nanoparticles is discussed including the challenges and possible solutions in terms of microstructure optimization, mechanical and other properties, and promising applications in wearable electronics and multifunctional materials.

The applications of nanoparticles suffer from their extremely small size and intrinsic trend of agglomeration. Rearranging nanoparticles to form micro-sized nanoaggregates (MNAs) with increased size, ordered structure, as well as controllable size, shape, and morphology is a crucial step in various fields of science and technology to maintain the unique characteristics of nanoparticles while obtaining greatly enhanced or new performances at the microscale. The structure of MNAs prominently affects their functionality, which is determined by the arrangement of nanoparticles and the interaction between primary particles. Several methods have been proposed to prepare the MNAs, in which spray-drying technology stands out considering the feasibility, scalability for industry, cost, and efficiency. Forced assembly of nanoparticles through spray-drying under tunable process parameters yields diverse physical properties and structural arrangements of nanoparticles of the MNAs, they therefore exhibit enormous potential in a wide range of application fields. This review presents the construction and applications of spray-dried MNAs. The factors that influence the size, morphology, and structure of the MNAs are discussed in detail. In addition, the outstanding application performance resulting from the tightly packed nanoparticles in regular-shaped MNAs obtained by the spray-drying process is illustrated.

Thermal stress is an important reason of coal particle primary fragmentation, during which the role of pore structure is ambiguous. Thermal stress induced fragmentation experiments were conducted with low volatile coal/char particles, and the results show that the fragmentation severity enhances with increasing porosity. Various porous thermal stress models were developed with finite element method, and the influences of the pore shape, size, position and porosity on the thermal stress were discussed. The maximum thermal stress inside particle increases with pore curvature, the pore position affects the thermal stress more significantly at the particle center and surface. The expectation of the maximum tensile thermal stress linearly increases with porosity, making the particles with higher porosity easier to fragment, contrary to the conclusion deduced from the devolatilization theory. The obtained results are valuable for the analysis of different thermal processes concerning the thermal stresses of the solid feedstocks.

Discrete Element Method – Computational Fluid Dynamics (DEM/CFD) simulations of industrial-scale granular systems employ spatial averaging (porous media approach) for the fluid-particle interaction in the whole domain, which can lead to poor accuracy, for instance at flow inlets, as local particle bulk morphology is not resolved. This paper presents an approach where the interstitial flow in crucial areas with large gradients can be resolved locally in an otherwise unresolved domain, so that a mixed resolved-unresolved method is realized.As a generic example to show the feasibility and performance of the new approach, the inflow of ambient air into a flat-bottom hopper through a narrow orifice is investigated. In an experimental setup, the vertical profile of the pressure decay through the inlet and across the packing is chosen for comparison with respective simulations. Results obtained with the conventional porous media method and the locally resolved approach are compared to these experiments for varying volume flow rates and for two different particle shapes. Spheres of different size as well as dodecahedrons are examined.It is found that although averaging methods already provide good approximations, the locally resolved method can improve the result especially when conventional drag laws are not applicable due to wall effects or if large velocity gradients exist.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) with a buildable internal structure has aroused great interest focus as self-sacrificing precursors of porous carbon (PC). However, as a drug carrier, the MOF-derived PC developed thus far are generally composed of irregular powder shape due to their crystalline nature, which consequently causing the cerebral infarction, cerebral thrombosis, and other blood diseases. In this article, we propose a novel approach to constructing amorphous carbon microspheres (ACMs) by distorting the topological network through hydrothermal treatment precursors of MIL-101(Fe). Then, a distinctive MIL-101(Fe)-derived spherical porous carbons (MSPC) is achieved through high temperature calcination toward ACMs. Effects of the glucose initial concentration and hydrothermal treatment time on the sphericity of the as-prepared mesoporous MSPC were investigated in depth. And the loading capacities and sustained-release performances of nitroimidazole drugs over MSPC through simulation internal environment of human body at different pH values was systematically evaluated. The nitroimidazole drugs loading rate and release time of MSPC are 10% and 17 h under preferred process. Furthermore, the MSPC exhibited very low toxicity on Hela cells and 293T cells at the concentrations tested (10–800 μg mL−1). This study, therefore, supports the potential of the mesoporous carbon spheres as a carrier for nitroimidazole drug delivery.

Protein crystallization plays a significant role in three-dimensional structural analysis and protein purification. It is important to increase the crystallization efficiency, which is possible by adding heterogeneous templates in crystallization systems. DNA is biologically compatible and artificially designable polymer, which is easy to extract. In this study, single- and double-stranded DNA of precise sequences were designed and used as templates to promote protein crystallization of lysozyme and catalase. Influence of DNA, single-stranded DNA with 10, 20, 40 bases and double-stranded DNA with 10, 20, 40 base pairs, were investigated. The success rate of obtaining crystals of lysozyme and catalase in equal period was significantly improved with the addition of DNA comparing without templates added. Double-stranded DNA led to higher nucleation rate than that with single-stranded DNA. The promotion of nucleation was more obvious at low concentration of protein solution and with longer chain DNA templates. Crystal number and crystallization rate was enhanced with addition of long double-stranded DNA templates. All the results confirm that DNA is an effective polymer additive to enhance protein crystallization, especially for the application of the scarce protein crystallization.

Recently, metal powders have been conceptualized as carbon-free recyclable energy carriers that may form a cornerstone of a sustainable energy economy. The combustion of metal dusts in oxidizing atmospheres is exothermal and yields oxide particles that could, potentially, be retrieved and, subsequently, recharged by conversion to pure metals using green primary energy sources. As a step towards a predictive tool for designing metal dust combustors, we present a fully Eulerian modelling approach for laminar particle-laden reactive flows that is, conceptually, based on a population balance description of the dispersed particles and relies on a stochastic Eulerian solution strategy. While the population balance equation (PBE) is formulated for the number-weighted distribution of characteristic properties among all particles near a spatial location, it is kinetically informed by the rates at which mass, momentum and heat are exchanged between the carrier gas and the particulate phase on the single particle level. Within the scope of the Eulerian Monte Carlo solution scheme, the property distribution is discretely represented in terms of the total number density and a finite number of property samples and the computational work is channelled towards the Eulerian estimation of mean particle properties.For the case of reactive aluminum particles, we combine a kinetic description of the gas-particle heat and mass transfer with a transport-limited continuum formulation to obtain rate expressions that are valid across the entire particle size range from the free molecular through the continuum regime. Besides velocity, the particle properties include only the particle mass, temperature and oxide mass fraction. This set of thermochemical degrees of freedom is retained also as phase transitions due to melting occur, drawing on a smooth blend of the solid and liquid thermodynamic and material properties. The particle-level formulation encompasses aluminum evaporation, surface oxidation, scavenging of oxide smoke, oxide evaporation/dissociation and radiation. After investigating how these effects translate, through the PBE, to the particle population level and affect the combustion in a homogeneous dust reactor, we analyze the combustion of an aluminum dust in a counterflow flame and validate predictions of the particles’ centerline velocity profile and the flame speed by comparison with available experimental data. Concomitantly, nitrogen oxide emissions are investigated along with the particle burnout and outlet size distribution.

The present research aims to assess the capability of a comprehensive Euler/Lagrange approach for predicting gas-solid flows and the associated solid particle erosion. The open-source code OpenFOAM® 4.1 was used to carry out the numerical simulations, where the standard Lagrangian libraries were substantially extended to account for all necessary models. Particles are tracked considering both translational and rotational motion as well as all relevant forces, such as gravity/buoyancy, drag and transverse lift due to shear and particle rotation. The tracking time step was dynamically adapted according to the locally relevant time scales, which drastically reduces computational times. Stochastic approaches are adopted to model particle turbulent dispersion, particle collisions with rough walls and particle-particle interactions. Five solid particle erosion models, available in the literature, were considered to estimate bend erosion. Three study cases are provided to validate the adopted numerical approach and erosion models extensively. The first case intends to evaluate the ability of the extended CFD code to predict the behaviour of gas-solid flows in pneumatic conveying systems. This goal is achieved by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data obtained by Huber (1997) and Huber and Sommerfeld (1994, 1998) in a pneumatic conveying system. Here, the importance of considering inter-particle collisions and surface roughness for predicting particle velocity, mass flux and mean diameter distributions in gas-solid flows is highlighted. The second and third case intend to evaluate the ability of the erosion models in estimating bend erosion in diluted gas-solid flows. The erosion data obtained experimentally by Mazumder et al. (2008) and Solnordal et al. (2015) in very dilut pneumatic conveying systems is used for validating the numerical results, neglecting now inter-particle collisions and two-way coupling. Besides a comprehensive analysis of the different influential properties on erosion, the innovation of the present study is as follows. For the first time also a temporal modification of the surface roughness due to the erosion was considered in the simulations obtained from previous measurements (Novelletto Ricardo & Sommerfeld, 2020). As the surface roughness is increased due to erosion, eventually erosion rate becomes lower. This is the result of diminishing wall collision frequency. Simulations for several degrees of surface roughness showed that larger roughness is coupled with a drastic reduction of erosion. Hence, numerical simulations neglecting wall surface roughness are not realistic. The consideration of a particle size distribution instead of mono-sized computations showed a possible reduction of erosion rate. The detailed analysis of the different single-particle erosion models revealed that the model proposed by Oka et al. (2005) and Oka and Yoshida (2005) yields the best agreement with the measurements, however particle and wall properties are needed.