Validation study on a coarse-grained DEM-CFD simulation in a bead mill

Abstract

A bead mill is often employed in powder processes. In the bead mill, the bead-particles move rapidly under high shear rate due to the moving structures. The discrete element method (DEM) coupled with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been applied to simulate the bead-particle behavior for the optimization of the bead mill design and operating conditions. However, the existing DEM-CFD method faces essential problems regarding the substantial limit of the number of computational particles, stable calculations, and modeling of rapidly moving structures. To solve these problems, we newly investigate a numerical model combining the coarse-grained DEM-CFD, an implicit algorithm for the drag force term, and a scalar field-based wall boundary in the calculation of a bead mill commonly employed in industrial powder processes. In this study, our proposed model is shown to successfully simulate the macroscopic behavior of the bead-particles through the validation test of the coarse-grained DEM-CFD simulation in the bead mill system. Specifically, the macroscopic characteristics such as the particle location, the particle velocity, and total kinetic energy, are shown to agree well between the original particle system and coarse-grained particle systems. Consequently, this study illustrates the combination of the coarse-grained DEM-CFD, an implicit algorithm for the drag force term, and the scalar field-based wall boundary is essential for simulating the typically industrial bead mill, where an enormous number of bead-particles should be calculated in liquid under high shear rate.