Numerical Investigation of Funicular Liquid Bridge Interactions Between Spherical Particles

In industrial processing of wet particulate materials, the liquid governs the formation, growth, and breakup of particle agglomerates. Pendular liquid bridges between two particles have been extensively investigated in the literature. Despite the interest, the complexities in the funicular regime, which involve multiple spheres, have remained mostly uncovered. Validated numerical simulations are utilized herein to examine funicular liquid bridge shapes, interaction forces, and rupture conditions as functions of the liquid volume, pressure difference, interparticle distance, and contact angle for three-sphere and four-sphere arrangements, including the presence of a particle of different size. The agglomerate strength is quantitatively characterized for a broad range of conditions.