(Massey University, 2003) Rynhart, P.R.; Jones, J.R.; McKibbin, R.
Modelling of wet granulation requires the rate of agglomerate coalescence to be estimated.
Coalescence is dependent on the frequency of collisions that occur, and the fraction of collisions
which result in coalescence. The collision rate is a function of granulator kinetics and powder
properties, while the coalescence success rate is dependent on factors including the Stokes
number and particle geometry. This work investigates an aspect of the geometry by examining
the distribution of liquid on the surface of agglomerates in the capillary state. Agglomerates
are created by adding particles, one at a time, about a central tetrahedral arrangement of
four primary particles. For a given agglomerate, the wetted fraction of surface area, defined
as the wetness, is evaluated using an approximate fluid surface. Packing density and binder
saturation parameters are incorporated into the model. Given a number of primary particles
and the volume of binder in a particle, the agglomerate wetness is able to be estimated using
computational geometry.
