Metastability, disorder and jamming are the typical characteristics of amorphous systems, while the related structure changes remain unclear. Sphere packing is often used as a structure model for amorphous and crystalline states. In this article, sphere packing systems with packing densities ranging from 0.50 to 0.74 were simulated by using Discrete Element Method (DEM), and the obtained packing structures were assessed to investigate the densification process and jamming properties. An order parameter that can effectively distinguish the order and disorder of packing structures was proposed based on the distribution characteristics of jamming angles. Then the evolution of jamming characteristics during the transition from Random Loose Packing (RLP) to Random Close Packing (RCP) and the jamming-jamming relations of different packing structures were demonstrated. On this basis, a correlation between order-jamming-metastable states from the microscopic structural perspective was established, which is of valuable theoretical and practical implications for the characterization and synthesis of crystalline and amorphous materials.@en

An in-depth exploration of the reaction kinetics and thermo-chemical behaviors of the raceway can offer practical insights for optimizing the operations of blast furnace (BF), thus achieving a more effective iron and steel production process. In this study, the dynamic characteristics and the flow, heat and mass transfer behaviors in the BF raceway were simulated by Discrete Element Method-Computational Fluid Dynamics (DEM-CFD) method at a particulate scale. The effects of coke size distribution and blast velocity on coke combustion characteristics, thermochemical behavior (particle volume fraction, raceway size, carbon loss, and coke temperature) and microscopic properties (coordination number (CN), contact normal force, pore structure and stress) were systematically investigated. The results show that as the blast velocity decreases or the size ratio λ (the largest coke particle size divided by the smallest coke particle size) increases, the raceway size becomes smaller, resulting in a smaller area of high oxygen (O₂) concentration and low carbon monoxide (CO) concentration in the raceway, and higher CO concentration in the packed bed. For the thermal-chemical behaviors, a lower blast velocity or a higher λ value decreases the number of particles experiencing mass loss, as well as increases individual particle mass loss, the average coke temperature and its variance. For microscopic properties, the CN distribution becomes wider as λ increases. The contact normal force in the coke bed with λ > 1 is significantly higher than that of λ = 1. As λ increases or blast velocity decreases, the pore distribution curve shifts to the left and the average pore volume decreases. The stress acting on the particles in the raceway increases with the blast velocity or λ. These new understandings of the complex reactive flow behaviors in the raceway will shed light on energy utilization and process optimization.

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Mixing structures and characteristics are crucial to the mixing quality of spherical/cylindrical binary granular systems like the biomass-coal mixtures which can affect energy release and carbon emissions. In this work, the mixing of binary spheres/cylinders in a rotating drum was numerically reproduced by using discrete element method (DEM). Systematic parametric studies were conducted to identify the role of various parameters such as rotation speed (ω) of the drum, aspect ratio (AR), mass fraction (φ_c) and volume fraction (φ_v) of cylindrical particles, and the density difference (φ_ρ) between the binary particles; meanwhile, corresponding mechanisms were also explored by analyzing the kinetic energy. Results show that when the flow regime is rolling/cascading, the mixing quality can be effectively improved; however, when the flow regime is cataracting, the mixing quality becomes worse. With AR close to 1.0, the interlocking effect between particles becomes weaker and the porosity becomes smaller, which leads to the higher contact efficiency and thus improves the mixing quality. Binary mixtures with different φ_c are synergistically affected by energy input and interlocking structure. The volume of spherical particles is more conducive to improving the mixing quality than that of cylindrical particles when the volume of the granular system is at the same level. The φ_ρ can cause segregation behavior of particles so as to make the mixing quality worse.

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Understanding and controlling the composition segregation during powder spreading is of key importance in the additive manufacturing (AM) of composite materials. Under this circumstance, the segregation behavior of WC/316 L composite powders during spreading in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) AM was numerically investigated by the discrete element method. The effects of process conditions (i.e., spreader velocity and geometry) and powder properties (i.e., size and shape of the WC powder) on the powder bed composition segregation and related characteristics were systematically analyzed. Corresponding mechanisms were identified from microscopic scale in terms of particle velocity, motion trajectory, mechanical behavior, and energy information. Finally, proper solutions in designing and constructing WC/316 L composite materials with desired gradient structures were proposed. The results show that the small blade velocity (V) will enhance the negative segregation, increase the average packing density ρ¯, and decrease uniformity ρ_vc in the WC/316 L composite powder bed. Compared with the blade, the roller can increase the negative segregation (Se_roller = −0.027 < Se_blade = −0.019) and the average packing density (ρ¯_roller = 0.31>ρ¯_blade = 0.20). When the WC/316 L size ratio increases from 25 μm/45 μm to 45 μm/45 μm, the negative segregation becomes weaker, and its value increases from −0.084 to −0.007. When the size ratio increases to 65 μm/45 μm, the powder behaves positive segregation with Se_max = 0.017; in this case, the packing density is the lowest (0.14), and the uniformity is the worst (0.17). In comparison with spherical shape, polyhedral WC powder can reduce the negative segregation of the powder bed (Se_sphere = −0.019 < Se_polyhedron = −0.008), while the WC shape has less effect on the packing density and uniformity. The density difference of the WC and 316 L powders leads to the difference in energy and force, resulting in different motion and segregation behaviors in the composite powder bed. For WC/316 L composite powder with a fixed composition, the condition of V = 0.025 m/s, WC/316 L size ratio = 25 μm/45 μm, roller spreader, and spherical WC can realize the proper composition gradient along the spreading direction in the composite powder bed.

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