Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations

Predicting the mixing or segregation of granular of dense materials is difficult due to their athermal nature and lack of general theories. The goal of this research is to improve the design (diameter of the cylinder) and operation (rotational frequency of the screw conveyor) of the stirrer to attai...

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Main Author: Roberto Arévalo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Soft Matter
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2023.1302367/full
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author Roberto Arévalo
Roberto Arévalo
author_facet Roberto Arévalo
Roberto Arévalo
author_sort Roberto Arévalo
collection DOAJ
description Predicting the mixing or segregation of granular of dense materials is difficult due to their athermal nature and lack of general theories. The goal of this research is to improve the design (diameter of the cylinder) and operation (rotational frequency of the screw conveyor) of the stirrer to attain good mixing. We characterize the mixing by some macroscopic measures and relate its behavior with the design parameters. Afterward, we compute some microscopic measurements that characterize the movement of the spheres and relate them with the operating conditions. The quality of mixing is found to depend on the rotation frequency of the screw conveyor and the gap between the latter and the enclosing cylinder. Besides, some relationships between micro- and macroscopic measures are drawn. This approach can provide guidance on the design or operation of devices to handle granular media when their microscopic behavior is previously known.
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spelling doaj.art-019c7ba5bcf942a9a0ea1097ba189f8d2023-11-27T06:27:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Soft Matter2813-04992023-11-01310.3389/frsfm.2023.13023671302367Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulationsRoberto Arévalo0Roberto Arévalo1CIRCE—Technology Center, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Zaragoza, SpainSTEAM, Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia, SpainPredicting the mixing or segregation of granular of dense materials is difficult due to their athermal nature and lack of general theories. The goal of this research is to improve the design (diameter of the cylinder) and operation (rotational frequency of the screw conveyor) of the stirrer to attain good mixing. We characterize the mixing by some macroscopic measures and relate its behavior with the design parameters. Afterward, we compute some microscopic measurements that characterize the movement of the spheres and relate them with the operating conditions. The quality of mixing is found to depend on the rotation frequency of the screw conveyor and the gap between the latter and the enclosing cylinder. Besides, some relationships between micro- and macroscopic measures are drawn. This approach can provide guidance on the design or operation of devices to handle granular media when their microscopic behavior is previously known.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2023.1302367/fullmixingidentical particlessimulationmicroscopic variablesmacroscopic measures
spellingShingle Roberto Arévalo
Roberto Arévalo
Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
Frontiers in Soft Matter
mixing
identical particles
simulation
microscopic variables
macroscopic measures
title Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
title_full Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
title_fullStr Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
title_full_unstemmed Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
title_short Connecting micro- and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
title_sort connecting micro and macroscopic variables in the design of a granular stirrer using simulations
topic mixing
identical particles
simulation
microscopic variables
macroscopic measures
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2023.1302367/full
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