Person Responsible:

Carine Alves, M.Sc., Institute of Solids Process Engineering and Particle Technology

Goals

Within the project A8, microscale models are investigated and developed with DEM to analyze and understand the heat transport during individual processing steps of the manufacturing flow. This improves existing semi-empirical models in the macro-scale simulations of porcelain tile production.

Supervisors

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr. h.c. Stefan Heinrich, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Irina Smirnova

Methods and Work programm

Various experimental and numerical methods are used in combination to investigate the problem.

Experimental investigations:

• Measurement of material parameters in dry and wet state
• Investigation of the influence of the bulk material on the thermal conductivity
• Investigation of the thermal conductivity of wet and dry materials

For the experimental investigations a new experimental setup is planned according to Fig. 1

Figure 1: Experimental setup for evaluating heat transfer through material bulk with different moisture contents

The experimental setup consists of a heating base of a cylinder of elastomeric foam based on synthetic rubber with a thermal conductivity of 0.033 W/ (mK) to ensure minimal heat transfer. Multiple thermocouples are placed at evenly spaced locations to evaluate heat transfer in the material mass over time along the distance from the heated plate. Data are recorded over time by a data logger. Various moisture contents and particle sizes are evaluated.

Numerical investigations:

• Simulation of thermal conductivity with the Bonded Particle Model (BPM)
• Automatic parameter adjustment for the determination of the unknown properties

Project-related Publications:

•  Alves, C.L.; Skorych, V.; De Noni Jr, A..; Hotza, D.; González, S.Y.G.; Heinrich, S. Application of Flowsheet Simulation Methodology to Improve Productivity and Sustainability of Porcelain Tile Manufacturing.Machines 2023 https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11020137