Experimental and numerical determination of the lubrication force between a spherical particle and a micro-structured surface

Abstract

In many particulate processes suspensions need to be handled. Hydrodynamic forces in presence of a liquid as a surrounding continuum medium can significantly affect the particle collision behaviour. When particles approach a wall, lubrication force can become dominant with decreasing distance. This force was described analytically by different authors for a smooth flat wall. Roughness was found to be an important factor in this context, but the mechanisms are still not fully understood. In this work, the effects of topology on the lubrication force were studied using a regular prismatic micro-structured titanium surface produced by micro-milling. A nanoindentation setup was modified for the direct measurement of this force during the particle approach to polished and micro-structured surfaces in liquid. For a more detailed insight on the behaviour of the fluid in the decreasing gap between particle and surface microstructure, resolved computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed using an overset mesh method. The comparison of simulation results with nanoindentation tests and analytical solution showed a good agreement. The effects of structure size and particle contact location at various approaching velocities on the lubrication force were investigated.