A modified agglomeration kernel model used for particle agglomeration

Abstract

Particle agglomeration in turbulent flows is an extremely complex process, and comprehensive study is beneficial to the development of turbulent agglomeration technology. The effects of vortex generator structure on particle agglomeration were investigated based on a combined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) approach, including the geometric size, spanwise pitch, longitudinal pitch, row number, arrangement and form of the vortex generator. A dimensionless parameter K (the ratio of vorticity to strain rate, abbreviated as K) was defined to evaluate the agglomeration ability of the vortex generator, and the traditional agglomeration kernel function was modified by adding a correction coefficient α (agglomeration efficiency). By comparing the traditional agglomeration model and the modified agglomeration model with the experimental results, it showed that the modified agglomeration kernel model can simulate a result closer to the real agglomeration process.