Vertical sorting process under oscillatory sheet flow condition by resolved discrete particle model

ABSTRACT

To computationally investigate the vertical sorting mechanism under an oscillatory sheet flow condition with graded particles, a resolved discrete particle model is employed in conjunction with a large eddy simulation (LES) of a solid–liquid two-phase flow. In the proposed approach, the resolvable scale in the Eulerian flow field is smaller than the diameter of the particle and the Lagrangian motion of each particle is simulated using the discrete element method. The numerical model is verified using previously obtained experimental data. The simulations reveal that most active vertical sorting occurs in the acceleration phase, with interparticle forces acting on each particle being dominant over the hydrodynamic forces. Regarding interparticle forces in the sheet flow layer, the profile of the particle ‘temperature’ supports the suggestion that the collision force dominates over the contact force.

Keywords:

• Euler–Lagrange coupling
• graded spherical particle
• particle–particle interaction
• sheet flow
• solid–liquid two-phase flow
• vertical sorting

Acknowledgements

This research was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25420520, and by the Konoike Scholarship Foundation.