2004/11/23 by Michael E. Cates, M. E. Cates, M. D. Haw +2 · 3 citations
Chemical Engineering · Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Granular flow and fluidized beds #Material Dynamics and Properties #Rheology and Fluid Dynamics Studies #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0953-8984/17/24/010
published as J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17, S2517-S2531 (2005) · Original article intended for J Phys Cond Mat special issue on Granular Materials (M Nicodemi, Ed.)
arxiv created 2004/11/23 · openalex publication_date 2005/06/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Granulation is a process whereby a dense colloidal suspension is converted into pasty granules (surrounded by air) by application of shear. Central to the stability of the granules is the capillary force arising from the interfacial tension between solvent and air. This force appears capable of maintaining a granule in a jammed solid state, under conditions where the same amount of solvent and colloid could also exist as a flowable droplet. We argue that in the early stages of granulation the physics of dilatancy, which requires that a powder expand on shearing, is converted by capillary forces into the physics of arrest. Using a schematic model of colloidal arrest under stress, we speculate upon various jamming and granulation scenarios. Some preliminary experimental results on aspects of granulation in hard-sphere colloidal suspensions are also presented.