Simulation of Attractive motion of Silica Microparticles in Aerosol Under Acoustic Excitation

Abstract

Numerical simulation of the attractive motion of dry silica microparticles in incompressible media under acoustic excitation is considered. The silica microparticles present spheres of the diameter are varying between 5 and 10 μm. A moving monochromatic sound wave initiates the attraction forces between particles, resulting from the oscillatory motion of the media. The effect of orthokinetic and acoustic wake hydrodynamic interaction mechanisms, as well as gravity and buoyancy forces, is taken into account. The conventional time-driven Discrete Element Method (DEM) is applied for simulation purposes, and the developed in-house DEM code was modified for simulation purposes. Binary attraction of particles differently located with respect to the direction of the sound wave is considered numerically and agglomeration time is investigated. The results are compared with the analytical solutions, and the experimental data described in the literature. The simulation of a 2D polydispersed particle system will be also demonstrated.