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Breakage Modeling Of Needle-Shaped Particles Using The Discrete Element Method, Rohit Kumar, William Ketterhagen, Avik Sarkar, Jennifer S. Curtis, Carl Wassgren

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper models the breakage of large aspect ratio particles in an attrition cell using discrete element method (DEM) and population balance (PB) models. The particles are modeled in DEM as sphero-cylinders. The stresses within each particle are calculated along the particle length using beam theory and the particle breaks into two parts if the stress exceeds a critical value. Thus, the size distribution changes with time within the DEM model. The DEM model is validated against previously published experimental data.

The simulations demonstrate that particle breakage occurs primarily in front of the attrition cell blades, with the breakage rate …