CFD-DEM Modelling: Clogging of Triplet Particles in a Microchannel with a Constriction

Clogging represents an important issue in the field of chemical engineering, particularly concerning microfluidic technologies such as microreactors. This phenomenon consists in the the interruption of the flow in confined geometries due to the complete blockage of the channel cross-section. Since experiments can be expensive and difficult to implement, mathematical modelling has become more and more used. In this work, the numerical method called CFD-DEM (combining Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method) is employed to simulate clogging in a microchannel with sudden contraction, considering a suspension of triplet particles and constant pressure drop. The influence of particle volume fraction, cohesion energy density, and pressure drop on the flow rate is investigated. A study concerning the orientation of the triplets in the microchannel is also carried out.