DEM/CFD modelling of the deposition of dilute granular systems in a vertical container

Deposition of granular materials into a container is a general industrial packing process. In this study, the deposition behaviour of dilute granular mixtures consisting of two types of particles that were of the same particle size but different particle densities in the presence of air was numerically analyzed using a coupled discrete element method (DEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Bilayer granular mixtures with light particles at bottom and heavy particles at top were first simulated. It was found that the presence of air significantly affected the flow behaviour of the bilayer mixtures. For the system with a relatively low initial void fraction, the air entrapped inside the container escaped through the dilated zones induced due to the friction between the powder bed and wall surfaces. The escaping air streams entrained light particles that were originally located at the bottom of the granular system. Consequently, these light particles were migrated to the top of the granular bed at the end of deposition process. More light particles were migrated when the deposition distance was increased. For the system with a high initial void fraction, some light particles penetrated into the top layer of heavy particles and created a mixing zone. Deposition of random mixtures with different initial void fractions was also investigated and the influence of initial void fraction on the segregation behaviour was explored as well. It was found that the increase of void fraction promoted segregation during the deposition in air. It was demonstrated that, for granular mixtures consisting of particles of different air sensitivities, the presence of air had a significant impact on the mixing and segregation behaviour during the deposition.