Computer simulation of particle rearrangement in the presence of liquid

Abstract

A model was developed to describe the motion of particles which are connected by liquid bridges. The model takes into account capillary force, particles inertia, viscous drag of liquid, and elastic collision. Below a critical thickness of the liquid film between particles, the liquid is assumed to be in a visco-elastic state and follows the Maxwell model. For a single pair of particles, the model predicts that, as viscosity increases, the first particle contact occurs later, and subsequent particle bounce is weaker. In the case of planar arrays of 5000 particles, the particles agglomerate, generating pores between particle clusters during the rearrangement. The final density obtainable by particle rearrangement increases as viscosity increases. This result is attributed to the suppression of fast local densification in the case of high viscosity. The implications and Limitations of the present analysis are also presented and discussed.