Prediction of the packing porosity of mixtures of spherical and non-spherical particles with a geometric model

This work presents a theoretical model that describes the porosity of spherical and non-spherical particles mixtures, with and without macropores. It was based on the geometry of packing of spherical particles. The description of the particles mixture porosity, without macropores, is performed by a single expression that takes into account the abundance of each particle species present in the mixture, as well as, the physical properties and the initial packaging of them. When the shape is not spherical, the model makes use of the concept of equivalent packing diameter. The published experimental values of the porosity of binary and ternary packings are compared with the values calculated with the proposed model. The results of the model are in good agreement with published experimental data. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.