AGGREGATION AND BREAKAGE OF SOLID PARTICLES IN SUSPENSIONS AGITATED IN A VIBRATING MIXER: A FRACTAL APPROACH

Abstract

A lumped discrete population balance model has been selected for the verification of the experimental data. Solid aggregates of chalk suspended in vigorously mixed suspension were treated as fractal objects with a mass fractal dimension taken as 2.02. A specially written computer program has been used for determining the evolution of population of aggregates during the course of mixing. The PSD (particle size distribution) results obtained by numerical calculation for fractal and non-fractal approaches have been compared, showing a better fit in the case of the fractal model. The aggregation and breakage rate coefficients were correlated as a function of the average energy dissipation rate in the vibrating mixer.

Keywords:

• Aggregation and breakage rate coefficients
• Aggregation and breakage of solid particles
• Fractal aggregates
• Lumped discrete population balance model
• Mass fractal dimension