AbstractThe application of nuclear magnetic resonance flow imaging (NMRI) to the study of Couette and falling-ball viscometry of solid/liquid suspensions is described. The suspension consisted of non-Brownian, monodisperse, neutrally-buoyant spheres of 50 vol%. NMRI data demonstrated flow-induced changes in the particle distribution in the suspension that strongly influence the accuracy in viscosity measurements using these flow geometries. In Couette flow, direct correlation between stress measurements and particle concentrations at various locations in the flow cell as a function of shear strain can be made. Our data directly confitrm the shearinduced particle migration theory proposed by Leighton and Acrivos.[1] In the falling-ball experiments, increased particle concentration at the leading edge and decreased concentration at the trailing edge of the ball was observed when the falling ball is big compared to the cylinder containing the suspension. This change in particle distribution can be directly related to the changes in fall velocity of the ball as a function of position in the cylinder.
CFD simulations of dense solid–liquid suspensions in baffled stirred tanks: Prediction of solid particle distribution
