A model to predict liquid bridge formation between wet particles based on direct numerical simulations

Abstract

We study dynamic liquid bridge formation, which is relevant for wet granular flows involving highly viscous liquids and short collisions. Specifically, the drainage process of liquid adhering to two identical, non-porous wet particles with different initial film heights is simulated using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). We extract the position of the interface, and define the liquid bridge and its volume by detecting a characteristic neck position. This allows us building a dynamic model for predicting bridge volume, and the liquid remaining on the particle surface. Our model is based on two dimensionless mobility parameters, as well as a dimensionless time scale to describe the filling process. In the present work model parameters were calibrated with DNS data. We find that the proposed model structure is sufficient to collapse all our simulation data, indicating that our model is general enough to describe liquid bridge formation between equally sized particles.

The effect of liquid bridge model details on the dynamics of wet fluidized beds

“…Particles are initialized with uniform coating of liquid film over particle surfaces. Specifically, we differentiate between three types of bridge models which are defined as follows: Model A: the static bridge model of Shi and McCarthy which is simple and efficient, but known to incorrectly predict the film thickness effect on the bridge volume Model B: a static bridge model considering the expression for the initial bridge volume detailed in our previous work .…”

“…In this study, we simulate wet fluidized beds considering different liquid bridge models (i.e., the model of Shi and McCarthy, the dynamic model of Wu et al, and a simplified version of the model of Wu et al). Specifically, particles are initialized with a film of uniform thickness covering their surfaces.…”

“…We aim on answering the following questions for which systems the dynamic liquid bridge model of Wu et al is essential, i.e., for which situations the drainage rate of liquid into the bridge is relevant? Which model is the most suitable one in terms of picturing effects originating from changes in the liquid surface tension and viscosity? What are the most critical parameters for each model that need to be determined, e.g., during a calibration procedure? …”

Continuous and discontinuous transitions between two types of capillary bridges on a beaded chain pulled out from a liquid

“…28 It is thus essential to know their properties and behavior. Therefore, a great effort is made to understand the mechanisms of their formation and shape development, [29][30][31] rupturing [32][33][34][35] and evaporation. 36,37 Capillary bridges exist at solid contacts between spheres, [38][39][40] rods, [41][42][43] plates, 44,45 a mix of these, [46][47][48][49] or other shapes.…”

Interface‐resolved simulations of normal collisions of spheres on a wet surface

“…Furthermore, Jain et al simulated collisions between a dry particle and a stationary liquid film using a combined volume of fluid–immersed boundary method, and were able to reproduce the experimentally observed phenomena. Moreover, a model was proposed by Wu et al to predict liquid bridge formation between wet particles based on DNS. Kan et al conducted a direct numerical simulation of particle–particle adhesion by a dynamic liquid bridge.…”