Hydrodynamics of heterogeneous particle swarms in gas-liquid-solid stirred tanks with free surface studied by DEM-VOF

Dianyu E, Yingming Wen, Yiliu Wu, Jing Li, Weifu Sun, Yonggang Liu, Chao Chen, Jiaxin Cui*, Yinxuan Qiu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Stirred tanks play a pivotal role in material blending, yet there is still a lack of data on inner complex blending mechanism, especially involving heterogeneous particle swarm with different shape combinations. This study extensively develops the DEM-VOF model, in which different drag force models are applied based on the identification of particle shapes. It aims to provide an insight into the blending system dynamics of heterogeneous particle swarms through seven arranged particle schemes building upon three different shapes. The results show that the oblate-prolate ellipsoid particle scheme has the optimal suspension performance, but demonstrates high power consumption. The addition of spherical particles into the oblate-prolate ellipsoid particle scheme has significant effect on particle suspension, fluid flow and the evolution of free surface, while contributes to a reduction in power consumption. This study presents an analysis of the hydrodynamics and optimization of blending systems involving heterogeneous particle swarms in stirred tanks.

Original languageEnglish
Article number121103
JournalPowder Technology
Volume462
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2025

Keywords

  • Blending
  • DEM-VOF
  • Free surface
  • Heterogeneous particle swarms
  • Stirred tanks

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