Experimental Investigation of Segregation in the Dilute Phase Transport of Nonspherical Particles through a Pneumatic Conveying System

The current study aims to investigate the segregation in the dilute phase transport through a pneumatic conveying system. Different types of nonspherical particles such as ellipsoids (prolate and oblate), cube, and elongated needles are mixed with spherical particles to study the influence of non sphericity. Experiments are performed to examine the effects of particle and system parameters such as particle size, particle shape, gas velocity, and solid loading rate on segregation. A unique decreasing segregation trend is observed for the shape of large particles as oblate > prolate > elongated needle and for the small nonspherical shape as small prolate > small cube. The particle acceleration (drag force per unit mass) is calculated by empirically measuring the average velocity for different particle types. The data shows a correlation between the observed segregation trend and relative particle acceleration for the various particles flowing the pneumatic system.

Automated summary

The current study aims to investigate the segregation in the dilute phase transport through a pneumatic conveying system. Different types of nonspherical particles such as ellipsoids (prolate and oblate), cube, and elongated needles are mixed with spherical particles to study the influence of non sphericity. Experiments are performed to examine the effects of particle and system parameters such as particle size, particle shape, gas velocity, and solid loading rate on segregation. The results show that the shape and size of particles, as well as parameters like gas velocity and solid loading rate, have a significant impact on segregation.