Granulation and suspension rheology: a unified treatment

Mixing a small amount of liquid into a powder can give rise to dry-looking granules; increasing the amount of liquid eventually produces a flowing suspension. We perform experiments on these phenomena using Spheriglass, an industrially-realistic model powder. Drawing on recent advances in understanding friction-induced shear thickening and jamming in suspensions, we offer a unified description of granulation and suspension rheology. A ‘liquid incorporation phase diagram’ explains the existence of permanent and transient granules and the increase of granule size with liquid content. Our results point to rheology-based design principles for industrial granulation.

Hodgson, Daniel JM; Hermes, Michiel; Blanco, Elena; Poon, Wilson CK. (2019). Granulation and suspension rheology: a unified treatment, [dataset]. University of Edinburgh. School of Physics and Astronomy. Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems. https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/2588.