Numerical Analysis of Segregation of Formulated Powder Mixtures

Researcher: Mohammadreza Alizadeh Behjani

Principal investigator: Dr Ali Hassanpour

Co-investigator(s): Prof. Mojtaba Ghadiri, Prof. Andrew Bayly

Industrial collaborators: Claire Duckitt

Sponsor: Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI)

Status: Ongoing (2014 – present)

Abstract

Granular segregation is an undesired phenomenon in which particles in a mixture separate from each other based on the differences in their physical and chemical properties. It is, therefore, crucial to control the homogeneity of the system by applying appropriate techniques. In this study, segregation of a ternary mixture of particles representing the common ingredients of home washing powders, namely, spray dried detergent powders (Blown Powder or BP), tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED), and enzyme placebo (as the minor ingredient) during heap formation and vibration will be modelled numerically by the Discrete Element Method (DEM) with an aim to investigate the effect of particle shape and cohesion/adhesion of the components on the mixing quality. The particle shapes are modelled using the X-Ray tomography and clumped sphere techniques and their properties are calibrated by both experiments and simulations. The main objective of this project is to build a virtual lab whereby the effects of particle size, density, shape, and surface condition on segregation tendency of powder mixtures can be studied.