Abstract
The mixing processes of granular materials have gained wide interest among various fields of science and engineering. In this study, our focus is a mixing process for offshore mining. We conducted numerical simulations using the discrete element method (DEM) in comparison with experimental works on mixing color sand. Careful calibration of initial packing densities has been performed for the simulations. For validation, the steady-state torques on the mixer head, the maximal increase of surface height after mixing, and the surface mixing patterns have been compared. The effect of particle size on the simulation results has been clarified. With the particle size approaching the actual particle size, consistent torques and mixing patterns indicate the capability of the DEM code for studying the particular mixing process, while the results for the maximal increase of surface height should be interpreted with more caution.
Highlights
The mixing process of granular materials has a wide application among various engineering fields such as chemical engineering, mineral processing, and the pharmaceutical industry [1,2]
We present model experiments and corresponding numerical simulations to validate the capability of a discrete element method (DEM) code for simulating the mixing process within pipes for offshore mining
We presented experimental works and numerical simulations for the validation of a DEM code for studying the mixing process within pipes for offshore mining
Summary
The mixing process of granular materials has a wide application among various engineering fields such as chemical engineering, mineral processing, and the pharmaceutical industry [1,2]. This study attempts to validate DEM simulations of the mixing process in the context of offshore mining of sediments, by qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the numerical and the experimental results of model experiments. We present model experiments and corresponding numerical simulations to validate the capability of a DEM code for simulating the mixing process within pipes for offshore mining. To understand the stress states of accretionary prisms formed by sediments By utilizing this code, DEPTH (DEM based Parallel mulTi-pHysics simulator), in this study, we carried out 3D DEM simulations with particles of the order of millions to investigate the effect of particle size on the the aforementioned two quantities (the torque on the mixer head and the maximal increase of surface height) and the qualitative indicator (surface mixing patterns revealed by color sand).
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