Modeling the agglomeration of electrostatically charged particles

Abstract

The agglomeration of particles during the handling of powders results in caking, lumping or the local accumulation of electrostatic energy. In the case of dry powders the attraction in-between particles can be mainly attributed to van der Waals and electrostatic forces. In this paper we present a novel numerical approach which is based on an algorithm developed by Erleben [1] in the field of computer graphics. This algorithm is extended to compute binary and multiple particle interaction with each other and solid surfaces. The herein presented results demonstrate that this algorithm allows to accurately and efficiently predict whether particles agglomerate or separate depending on their kinetic parameters. Simulated test cases reveal how electrostatic and van der Waals forces lead to the growth of structures in case the particle restitution coefficient is sufficiently low.