Distributed cumulant lattice Boltzmann simulation of the dispersion process of ceramic agglomerates

Abstract

The dispersion process of ceramic agglomerates modeled as solid particles with mass and drag coefficient in a micro-machined disperser is simulated with the cumulant lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). A simplified particle model is used for tracking the pathlines by compact quadratic interpolation. Th e simulation of the disperser is validated with experimental data. The simulation is found to be in quantitative agreement with both PIV measurements and flow rate measurements. Pathlines record the complete history of the strain rate each particle suffers during its passage. It is assumed that agglomerates break-up when they experience strain rates above a critical threshold. The obtained data for the maximum strain can be condensed into a simple exponential model with only two parameters that are determined by the simulation results. This condensed model is used to determine the probability that the particle experience a given threshold strain rate after a given number of passages through the disperser.