https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201714013003
Numerical modelling of powder caking at REV scale by using DEM
1 UPJV - Campus Universitaire Pôle Technologique - LTI-EA3899, Saint-Quentin, France
2 Sorbonne Universités - Université de Technologie de Compiègne, TIMR-EA4297, Compiègne, France
* e-mail: mohamed.guessasma@u-picardie.fr
Published online: 30 June 2017
This work deals with numerical simulation of powder caking process caused by capillary condensation phenomenon. Caking consists in unwanted agglomeration of powder particles. This process is often irreversible and not easy to predict. To reproduce mechanism involved by caking phenomenon we have used the Discrete Elements Method (DEM). In the present work, we mainly focus on the role of capillary condensation and subsequent liquid bridge formation within a granular medium exposed to fluctuations of ambient relative humidity. Such bridges cause an attractive force between particles, leading to the formation of a cake with intrinsic physicochemical and mechanical properties. By considering a Representative Elementary Volume (REV), the DEM is then performed by means of a MULTICOR-3D software tacking into account the properties of the cake (degree of saturation) in order to establish relationships between the microscopic parameters and the macroscopic behaviour (tensile strength).
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
