Kenneth Williams

Bio: Kenneth Williams is an academic researcher from University of Newcastle. The author has contributed to research in topics: Pressure drop & Slug flow. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 84 publications receiving 607 citations.

Solids Friction Factors for Fluidized Dense-Phase Conveying

Abstract: There have been numerous correlations proposed for determining a solids friction factor ( u s ) for fully suspended (dilute phase) pneumatic conveying. Currently, there are no equivalent correlations that predict u s in nonsuspension dense-phase flows. In dense-phase conveying there are two basic modes of flow: plug/slug flow, which is predominantly based on granular products, and fluidized dense-phase flow, which is more suited to fine powders exhibiting good air retention capabilities. In plug/slug type flow, the stresses between the moving plug of material and the pipe wall dominate the solid-phase frictional losses. In fluidized dense-phase flow the frictional losses are characterized as a mixture of particle-wall and particle-particle losses but are heavily influenced by the gas-solid interactions. In this paper, a series of calculations were performed on experimental data in order to estimate u s for four types of material conveyed in the fluidized dense-phase flow regime. The solids frictional fact...

On the challenges facing the handling of solid biomass feedstocks

Abstract: With a major global emphasis on the management of waste, alternative resources and a shift to environmentally sustainable technologies, demand for large volumes of heterogeneous solid biomass feedstocks for energy or chemical use is expected to rise significantly. In transforming a sporadic supply of a low-value, highly variable product, to continuous and controlled high through-put systems, a thorough understanding of the feedstock properties will increase in importance. Appropriate characterisation tests are necessary to define technical specification and selection criteria for handling equipment and to appraise the requirement and location for additional processes or pre-treatment to be integrated into the handling chain. Such tests may also influence the material characteristics to be used in the conversion process. This paper discusses the main feedstock attributes associated with a number of handling chain phases and the approach to obtain them. The framework for a holistic approach to the characterisation and design of biomass feedstock handling systems for further development and practical implementation is also proposed.

A review of recent advances in tribology

Abstract: The reach of tribology has expanded in diverse fields and tribology related research activities have seen immense growth during the last decade. This review takes stock of the recent advances in research pertaining to different aspects of tribology within the last 2 to 3 years. Different aspects of tribology that have been reviewed including lubrication, wear and surface engineering, biotribology, high temperature tribology, and computational tribology. This review attempts to highlight recent research and also presents future outlook pertaining to these aspects. It may however be noted that there are limitations of this review. One of the most important of these is that tribology being a highly multidisciplinary field, the research results are widely spread across various disciplines and there can be omissions because of this. Secondly, the topics dealt with in the field of tribology include only some of the salient topics (such as lubrication, wear, surface engineering, biotribology, high temperature tribology, and computational tribology) but there are many more aspects of tribology that have not been covered in this review. Despite these limitations it is hoped that such a review will bring the most recent salient research in focus and will be beneficial for the growing community of tribology researchers.

Discrete Element Method (DEM) for Industrial Applications: Comments on Calibration and Validation for the Modelling of Cylindrical Pellets

Abstract: As a consequence of increasing computer power and more readily useable commercial and open source codes, Discrete Element Method (DEM) is becoming widely used across a range of applications to simulate increasingly complex processes. This is exacerbating the challenge of setting up simulations for industrial applications. The literature on input parameter selection is divided. A number of papers report methods for their direct measurement. Others, by contrast, propose a “calibration” approach where the particle properties are derived as adjustable parameters by quantitative comparison of experimental and simulation results. This paper reports on the calibration and validation of the input parameters for the specific case of cylindrical tablets represented by conjoined spheres. The initial steps are to not only assign and optimise the DEM input parameters but also optimise the shape representation; what degree of linearity of the edges and angularity of the corners are required to accurately reflect the cylindrical shape. The model was used to simulate two configurations of a rotating drum: an “attrition tester” with a single longitudinal baffle and an un-baffled drum. The results were compared qualitatively and quantitatively with experimental data. While the qualitative comparison was good in most cases, detailed quantitative comparison fared less well, with some significant errors. This study highlights some of the key issues for a wider-spread of industrial applications for DEM.