Qualitative models of particle de-agglomeration

We present a differential equation model and a computer simulation of particle de-agglomertion in suspensions. The models are qualitative in nature, that is they do not assume specific parameters. Instead, this article investigates whether qualitative features of a series of transient volume–size distributions can give an insight into the underlying dynamics of particle de-agglomeration. We find that this is indeed possible and provide a table summarizing how various breakdown processes can be distinguished by considering the qualitative features of the transient volume–size distributions only.

Graphical abstractUsing computational and mathematical methods we investigate the qualitative effects of various particle-de-agglomeration patterns on the time development of particle size histograms. We suggest a categorization that allows to conclude from qualitative properties of the particle size histogram to the underlying de-agglomeration mechanisms.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide