OSB Blender Optimization

DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF A DISCRETE ELEMENT MODEL FOR
SIMULATING THE BULK STRAND FLOW IN A ROTARY DRUM BLENDER

by

Graeme Dick

B.Sc., University of British Columbia, 2006

A THESIS SUBMITTTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF SCIENCE

in

The Faculty of Graduate Studies

(Forestry)

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
(Vancouver)

August 2008

Graeme Dick, 2008
-ii-
ABSTRACT

In 2006 resin accounted for approximately 17% of the direct manufacturing costs for oriented
strand board (OSB). Because of their increased dependency on pMDI-resins, this percentage
is likely greater for oriented strand lumber (OSL) and laminated strand lumber (LSL). The
cost of PF- and pMDI-resins is expected to face upward pressure as the cost of their primary
constituents, natural gas and crude oil, continue to reach new highs. Therefore, there is
strong economic incentive to optimize the use of resin in the production of these three
products. This can be accomplished by addressing two key issues: reducing resin wastage
and optimizing resin distribution on the strands. Both issues will be overcome by focusing
on the blending process, where resin is applied to the strands.

This work focused on development and use of a discrete element model (DEM) for
simulating strand flow in a rotary drum blender using the EDEM software package. EDEM
required the input of three material and three interaction properties. Development of the
model involved creating the simulated environment (i.e. physical dimensions) and assigning
appropriate material and interaction properties given this environment and the assumptions
that were made. This was accomplished in two steps, completing baseline bench-top
experiments and a literature review to determine appropriate parameters and initial value
ranges for these properties, and then fine-tuning these values based on a validation process.

Using the validated model, an exploratory study was conducted to determine the effect of
four blender design and operating parameters (flight height, number of flights, blender
rotational speed, and blender fill level) on bulk strand flow. The results were analyzed with
regards to overall trends and by focusing on two perspectives, end users and blender
manufacturers. It was found that there was a strong relationship between these key
parameters and bulk strand flow. These results suggest that operating parameters of a
blender, namely rotational speed and tilt angle, should be linked directly to the blender feed
rate to ensure an optimal blending environment is maintained. In addition, manufacturers of
blenders must take into consideration the range in final operating conditions when designing
and positioning flights.

-iii-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents....................................................................................................................iii
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... v
List of Figures........................................................................................................................vii
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... x
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................. xi

Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Rationale........................................................................................................................ 3
1.2 Objectives and structure of thesis.................................................................................. 7

Chapter 2: Literature Review.............................................................................................. 9
2.1 Rotary drum blending.................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Discrete element method............................................................................................. 11
2.2.1 Applications for discrete element methods....................................................... 13
2.3 Friction ........................................................................................................................ 15

Chapter 3: Laboratory Determined Coefficient of Static Friction ................................ 18
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 18
3.2 Materials...................................................................................................................... 19
3.3 Procedure..................................................................................................................... 20
3.4 Results ......................................................................................................................... 24
3.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 27

Chapter 4: Determination of Suitable Material and Interaction Properties for use
as Input Parameters in the RDBM................................................................ 29
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 29
4.2 Procedure..................................................................................................................... 31
4.2.1 Screening design............................................................................................... 31
4.2.2 Strand representation in EDEM........................................................................ 34
4.2.3 Characterization of resination potential ............................................................ 34
4.3 Validation process selection of appropriate input parameters.................................. 39
4.4 Results ......................................................................................................................... 49
4.4.1 Screening design material properties............................................................. 49
4.4.2 Screening design interaction properties......................................................... 50
4.4.3 Coefficient of rolling friction............................................................................ 51
4.4.4 Validation - coefficient of static friction........................................................... 52
4.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 60

Chapter 5: Measuring the Effect of Rotary Drum Blender Design and Operating
Parameters on the Bulk Strand Flow using a Response Surface Design .... 62
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 62
5.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 62
5.3 Results and discussion................................................................................................. 66
5.3.1 Overall predictive trends................................................................................... 66
5.3.1.1 Skewness ............................................................................................. 67
5.3.1.2 Effect of an atomizer boom on the skewness results........................... 73
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5.3.1.3 Kurtosis ............................................................................................... 77
5.3.1.4 Effect of an atomizer boom on the kurtosis results ............................. 80
5.3.1.5 Average time a strand spent in the resination region .......................... 83
5.3.1.6 Effect of an atomizer boom on the average time a strand spent
in the resination region........................................................................ 85
5.3.1.7 Discussion ........................................................................................... 85
5.3.2 Research applications........................................................................................ 86
5.3.2.1 Wood strand-based product manufacturers......................................... 87
5.3.2.2 Effect of the atomizer boom for wood strand-based product
manufacturers ...................................................................................... 89
5.3.2.3 Blender manufacturers ........................................................................ 91
5.3.2.4 Effect of the atomizer boom for blender manufacturers ..................... 94
5.3.2.5 Discussion ........................................................................................... 97
5.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 98

Chapter 6: Summary and Future Work......................................................................... 100
6.1 Future Work .............................................................................................................. 101

Literature Cited ................................................................................................................. 103

APPENDIX A: Coefficient of Friction SAS Analysis and Results.................................... 108
APPENDIX B: Mechanical Properties of UHMW and HDPE.......................................... 113
APPENDIX C: Blender Drawing Provided by Coil Manufacturing.................................. 114
APPENDIX D: Write-out Every Time Interval Calculation.............................................. 116
APPENDIX E: VBA Macro for Sorting, Filtering and Analysing EDEM Data ............... 121
APPENDIX F: Macro for Performing Analysis in Image Pro Plus................................... 130
APPENDIX G: ANOVA Results for the Mechanical Properties of Aspen Strands .......... 132
APPENDIX H: ANOVA Results for the Interaction Properties of Aspen Strands
and Polyethylene....................................................................................... 134
APPENDIX I: Results from the Student t-test for Shoulder and Toe Angles .................. 136
APPENDIX J: Results from the Exploratory Study Without and With an
Atomizer Boom......................................................................................... 137

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. OSB costs for benchmark north-central US mills from 2000 to 2006....................... 5
Table 2. Pricing data for the constituents of PF- and pMDI-resin from 1999 to 2005............ 6
Table 3. Strand combinations used for static friction coefficient tests. ................................. 21
Table 4. Summary of test results for the coefficient of static friction between two wood
strands at 22C and 55% relative humidity ............................................................. 25
Table 5. Summary of test results for the coefficient of static friction between a wood
strand and HDPE at 22C and 55% relative humidity............................................. 26
Table 6. Regression parameters for determining the coefficient of static friction between
two wood strands at 22C and 55% relative humidity............................................. 27
Table 7. Regression parameters for determining the coefficient of static friction between
a wood strand and HDPE at 22C and 55% relative humidity. ............................... 27
Table 8. Required material and interaction properties for the RDBM. ................................. 29
Table 9. Materials used and materials that may come in contact in the RDBM.................... 29
Table 10. (Left) Aspen wood strand material properties and (right) interaction properties
simulation design.................................................................................................... 31
Table 11. Factor levels for Quaking Aspen material properties............................................. 32
Table 12. Factor levels for interaction properties................................................................... 32
Table 13. Fixed factor levels for the blender operation and design. ...................................... 33
Table 14. Fixed factor levels for the liner and flights ............................................................ 33
Table 15. Blender rotational speed and fill level combinations for laboratory video
recordings. .............................................................................................................. 41
Table 16. Simulation settings. ................................................................................................ 33
Table 17. Frame export settings used in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. ...................................... 46
Table 18. Factors and response variables for simulations investigating the impact of the
material properties. ................................................................................................. 50
interaction properties. ............................................................................................. 50
Table 20. Rolling and static friction coefficients for the simulations aimed at determining
a suitable coefficient of rolling friction. ................................................................. 51
Table 21. Pairs of static friction coefficients used to identify a suitable set of values........... 53
Table 22. Student t-test for two sample means assuming unequal variance for the shoulder
and toe angles in Run 4 and the laboratory results................................................. 54
Table 25. Summary of runs 4 to 6 and the laboratory taken shoulder and toe angle results.
Italicized values indicate those angles that are significantly different ( = 0.05)
from the image results. ........................................................................................... 55
Table 26. Summary of shoulder and toe angles obtained at 15.5 to 25.5 RPM with the
coefficients of static friction set at 0.14 and 0.07................................................... 56
Table 27. Summary of material and interaction properties for use with EDEM.................... 61
Table 28. Response surface design matrix. ............................................................................ 64
Table 29. Response surface design factor levels .................................................................... 64
Table 30. Factor levels used in the skewness and average time spent in resination region
analyses. ................................................................................................................. 67
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Table 31. List of effects for the skewness showing (left) the significant effects and (right)
the significant effects as well as those that were included to maintain the model
hierarchy. ................................................................................................................ 68
Table 32. List of effects for the skewness when an atomizer boom is present, showing (left)
the significant effects and (right) the significant effects as well as those that were
included to maintain the model hierarchy. ............................................................. 74
Table 33. List of effects for the kurtosis showing (left) the significant effects and (right)
the significant effects as well as those that were included to maintain the model
hierarchy. ................................................................................................................ 78
Table 34. List of effects for the kurtosis when an atomizer boom is present, showing (left)
the significant effects and (right) the significant effects as well as those that
were included to maintain the model hierarchy. .................................................... 81
Table B1: Mechanical properties of UHMW...................................................................... 113
Table B2: Mechanical properties of HDPE......................................................................... 113
Table G1: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the skewness
of the resulting histogram. .................................................................................. 132
Table G2: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the kurtosis of
the resulting histogram........................................................................................ 132
Table G3: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the count of
the resulting histogram........................................................................................ 132
Table G4: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the processing
time of the respective simulation. ....................................................................... 133
Table H1: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the skewness
Table H2: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the kurtosis
Table H3: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the count
Table H4: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the
processing time of the respective simulation. ..................................................... 135
Table I1: Student t-test for two sample means assuming unequal variance for the
shoulder and toe angles in Run 4 and the laboratory results ran at 15.5 RPM. .. 136
Table I2: Student t-test for two sample means assuming unequal variance for the
shoulder and toe angles in Run 4 and the laboratory results ran at 25.5 RPM. .. 136
Table J1: Results from exploratory study without an atomizer boom................................ 137
Table J2: Results from exploratory study with an atomizer boom..................................... 138
-vii-
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Canadian structural panels production from 1982 to 2005 ...................................... 1
Figure 2. Size of the total North American framing lumber market and the potential
market size for engineered wood products............................................................... 4
Figure 3. Flow chart showing the basic constituents that are used in the production of PF-
and pMDI-resin. The shaded constituents are included in Table 2......................... 6
Figure 4. Turners spinning disc blender showing a vertical spray pattern........................... 10
Figure 5. Lignex spinning disc blender showing a diagonal spray pattern............................ 11
Figure 6. Flow chart for operations performed in a typical DEM algorithm......................... 12
Figure 7. Diagram showing the pair of forces that determines the friction torque................ 16
Figure 8. Photograph of sliced aspen veneer strands, (a) primary surface and
(b) secondary surface.............................................................................................. 20
Figure 9. Inclined plane jig with the various components indicated ..................................... 21
Figure 10. Two sleds used for the inclined plane test, (left) sled equipped with dowels for ....
larger contact pressures and (right) sled equipped with adhesive surface for
lower contact pressures. ........................................................................................ 22
Figure 11. Photograph of the testing procedure for the coefficient of static friction of wood
strands using the inclined plane technique, showing a parallel parallel
orientation. ............................................................................................................ 23
Figure 12. Schematic of inclined plane jig showing the measurement locations for
Equation 5............................................................................................................. 24
Figure 13. Static coefficient of friction between two wood strands for increasing contact
pressures and different strand sample orientations. .............................................. 25
Figure 14. Static coefficient of friction between a wood strand and HDPE for increasing
contact pressures and different strand and HDPE sample orientations. ............... 26
Figure 15. Schematic showing the representation of sticks using a series of six spheres
(left) and a schematic showing the placement of a template over top of the
six spheres to aid in the visual analysis process (right). ....................................... 34
Figure 16. Blender schematic showing the resination region outlined in blue. ..................... 35
Figure 17. Simulation and photographed examples of increasing skewness caused by
increasing rotational speeds from 15.5 RPM to 25.5 RPM.................................. 37
Figure 18. Sample histogram with a respective skewness, kurtosis, and count of -0.3024,
-0.2794, and 22 453. ............................................................................................. 38
Figure 19. Schematic showing the placement of the lights and camera/video camera
relative to the laboratory blender, with the axis indicated in blue. ....................... 40
Figure 20. Photograph showing the placement of the lights and camera/video camera
relative to the laboratory blender. ......................................................................... 40
Figure 21. Example of (left) a screen shot taken of an animated GIF illustrating the
simulation results and (right) a screen shot taken of the video footage taken
in the laboratory. ................................................................................................... 41
Figure 22. Schematic showing the shoulder, , and toe, , angles for two points of
detachment. The 0
o
and 90
o
reference angles are shown in blue. ......................... 42
Figure 23. Illustration showing the identification of the shoulder and toe angle from the
laboratory video footage. ...................................................................................... 44
Figure 24. Illustration showing the identification of the shoulder () and toe () angle
from the simulation results using the streaming effect. ........................................ 45
Figure 25. Schematic of the x, y, z coordinate system relative to the blender. ...................... 46
-viii-
Figure 26. Screen shot taken in Image Pro Plus v6 showing the placement of the thick,
line profile and the cooresponding grayscale values ............................................ 48
Figure 27. Example of simulation results overlaid on top of grayscale results...................... 49
Figure 28. Skewness as a function of the coefficient of rolling friction ................................ 52
Figure 29. Baseline grayscale results for the laboratory blender running empty................... 57
Figure 30. Grayscale results for the blender running at 15.5 RPM and 1/8
th
full. ................. 58
th
full. ................. 59
th
full. ................. 59
Figure 33. Schematic of a blender fitted with an atomizer boom, shaded grey..................... 66
Figure 34. Prediction profiles generated in SAS showing the relationship between the
skewness and the (top-left) number of flights, (top-right) flight height,
(bottom-left) fill level, and (bottom-right) blender rotational speed..................... 68
Figure 35. Schematic showing the angle of repose, , for a pile of wood strands on a
horizontal surface.................................................................................................. 69
Figure 36. Simulation images showing the charge level per flight and the discharge pattern
when a relatively small number of flights are employed. The simulated blender
has 4-6 inch flights and is rotating at 23.39 RPM and is 1/8
th
full ....................... 70
when a relatively large number of flights are employed. The simulated blender
has 16-6 inch flights and is rotating at 23.39 RPM and is 1/8
th
full ..................... 71
Figure 38. Simulation image showing strands rolling in the corner of the drum, where there
are 8-4 inch flights and the blender is rotating at 18.71 RPM and is 1/4 full. ...... 71
Figure 39. (Left) Simulation image showing the dispersion of strands across relatively few
flights when the blender is rotating at 18.71 RPM and (right) across many flights
when the blender is rotating at 28.07 RPM. In both cases the blender has 16-4
inch flights and is 1/8
th
full. .................................................................................. 72
skewness and the (top-left) number of flights, (top-right) flight height,
(bottom-left) fill level, and (bottom-right) blender rotational speed when an
atomizer boom is included in the simulation........................................................ 75
Figure 41. Simulation images showing the dispersion of strands across the blender diameter
when there is (top-left) no atomizer boom and there are 2 inch flights,
(top-right) no atomizer boom and there are 6 inch flights, (bottom-left) an
atomizer and there are 2 inch flights, and (bottom-right) an atomizer boom
and there are 6 inch flights. In all cases there were 16 flights and the blender
rotated at 23.39 RPM. ........................................................................................... 76
Figure 42. Simulation image showing strands as they become wedged between the
atomizer boom and blender wall when operating at elevated fill levels,
indicated by the dashed oval. In this case the blender is full and is equipped
with 8, 4 inch flights and is rotating at 28.07 RPM. ............................................. 77
Figure 43. Prediction profiles generated in SAS showing the impact of the (left) number
of flights on the relationship between (right) the kurtosis and the flight height... 79
Figure 44. Prediction profiles generated in SAS showing the impact of the (right) flight
height on the relationship between (left) the kurtosis and the number of flights.. 79
Figure 45. Prediction profiles generated in SAS showing the impact of the (left) number
of flights on the relationship between (right) the kurtosis and the flight height
when an atomizer boom is present........................................................................ 82
-ix-
height on the relationship between (left) the kurtosis and the number of flights
when an atomizer boom is present........................................................................ 82
average time spent in the resination region and the (left) flight height and
(right) blender rotational speed............................................................................. 83
Figure 48. Simulation images showing (top-left) the clustering of strands at relatively
low speeds with 2-inch flights, (top-right) the dispersion of strands at relatively
high speeds with 2-inch flights, (bottom-left) the clustering of strands at
relatively low speeds with 6-inch flights, (bottom-right) the dispersion of
strands at relatively high speeds with 6-inch flights. .......................................... 84
Figure 49. Contour graphs for the skewness based on the fill level and blender rotational
speed using 3, 4, 5, and 6-inch flights. The number of flights has been fixed
at 14....................................................................................................................... 88
speed using 3, 4, 5, and 6-inch flights when an atomizer boom is present. The
number of flights has been fixed at 14.................................................................. 90
Figure 51. Contour graphs based on number of flights and flight height. The rotational
speed ranged from 23 to 28 RPM and the fill level was fixed at 25%. ................ 93
Figure 52. Contour graphs for the inclusion of an atomizer boom based on number of
flights and flight height. The rotational speed ranged from 23 to 28 RPM and
the fill level was fixed at 25%............................................................................... 95
Figure 53. Simulation images showing the streaming of strands off of the atomizer boom
at (a) 18.71 RPM, (b) 23.39 RPM, and (c) 28.07 RPM. The simulated blenders
were each equipped with 8-4 inch flights and filled 1/4 full. The angles that the
strands stream off of the boom are approximately 14, 12, and 7 from vertical
respectively. .......................................................................................................... 96
Figure C1: Schematic of blender layout and atomizer spray patter. ................................... 114
Figure D1: Schematic of an example where the write-out time interval is set too large. .... 117
Figure D2: Schematic of the extreme case scenario where an object falls from the top of
the blender, A, through the resination region, B to C, and collides with the
bottom of the blender, D.................................................................................... 118
Figure D3: Location of the write-out every time intervals within the resinating region,
relative to the top of the blender, when the first interval is located marginally
less than one full t
w
from the top of the region. .............................................. 119
relative to the top of the blender, when the last interval is located marginally
less than one full t
w
from the bottom of the region......................................... 119
relative to the top of the blender, when the first interval is located marginally
below the top of the region................................................................................ 120
relative to the top of the blender, when the last interval is located marginally
above the bottom of the region.......................................................................... 120
-x-
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ANOVA Analysis of variance
BBF Billion board feet
BSF Billion square feet 3/8 inch basis
COV Coefficient of variation
DEM Discrete element modeling
EWP Engineered wood products
GIF Graphics interchange format
HDPE High density polyethylene
IPP Image pro plus
LSL Laminated strand lumber
OSB Oriented strand board
OSL Oriented strand lumber
PE Polyethylene
PF Phenol formaldehyde
pMDI Polymeric diphenyl methane diisocyanate
RPM Revolutions per minute
RSM Response surface methodology
RDBM Rotary drum blending model
SF Square feet
UHMW Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene
VBA Visual basic for applications
-xi-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to those who have helped ensure that this project
was a success. To my committee members: Drs. Gregory Smith, Paul McFarlane, and Erik
Eberhardt, your guidance throughout this process has certainly been appreciated.

To my colleagues: Jo Chau, Emmanuel Sackey, Solace Sam-Brew, Dr. Kate Semple, and
Chao Zhang, your assistance and support have made this experience enjoyable.

To my family and friends, your ongoing support and devotion have helped me reach this
point. And to my wife, Sara, you have kept me grounded throughout this experience by
simply listening to my challenges and always being there.

A special thank you goes to Weyerhaeuser Canada for their financial support and guidance
throughout this project, and to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada for their financial support.
-1-
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Beginning in the mid-1970s, structural products composed of reconstituted wood strands
have increasingly become a major component of Canadas forest products industry. This
transition began with the advent of waferboard and quickly progressed to oriented strand
board (OSB), a direct substitute for plywood in the construction market (Figure 1). In 2006,
oriented strand board accounted for approximately 63% of all structural panel production in
Canada (Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 2008; Spelter et al. 2006). Laminated strand lumber
(LSL) and oriented strand lumber (OSL) were subsequently developed to compete with solid
sawn lumber in the same market. In todays North American residential construction market,
these wood strand-based products can be found everywhere from the sheathing on exterior
walls, to the headers used to span garage door openings, and to the specialty studs used
behind kitchen cabinets.

Plywood
OSB
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
1
9
8
2
1
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8
6
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1
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0
1
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1
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0
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5
Year
M
i
l
l
i
o
n

s
f

-

3
/
8
"

B
a
s
i
s

Figure 1. Canadian structural panels production (million SF - 3/8" basis) from 1982 to 2005
(data from: International Wood Markets Group 2006).

-2-
The North American production capacity for OSB is expected to continue increasing into the
future. In fact, if all of the OSB projects tabled in 2005 were to go ahead as planned,
capacity would balloon from 23.7 million m
3
(27.5 BSF) in 2005 to 31.9 million m
3
(37 BSF)
by 2010 (International Wood Markets Group 2006). However, because of recent slowdowns
in the US housing market, largely driven by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and an
accompanying over-supply of OSB, these previous projections have been stifled. According
to a report by Dixon (2008), North American OSB capacity had already reached 26.2 million
m
3
by the end of 2007; however, any additional capacity that was planned to come on stream
by 2010 had been postponed indefinitely.

The increased production of OSB is also being experienced beyond North American borders.
While most of the additional capacity that was expected to come on stream in the near future
is located in North America, Europes OSB industry has also been expanding, albeit at a
considerably lower volume (International Wood Markets Group 2006). This is largely
because of the relatively slow adoption of OSB into European building codes (World Forest
Institute 2007). This progress has been further hindered by the effect of North American
OSB producers dumping excess supply in Europe, discouraging the development of new
domestic facilities (Higgs 2008). The total European capacity reached 3.9 million m
3
by the
end of 2007. By 2009 an additional 1.4 million m
3
is expected to come on stream.

As mentioned, there are three products that fall beneath the umbrella of wood strand-based
products: OSB, LSL, and most recently OSL. During the manufacture of these products a
mat consisting of a large number of strands is consolidated under heat and pressure to form a
single entity, or billet. In order for the consolidation to be effective, resin must be employed
to hold the final product together. The application of resin onto the strands is perhaps the
least studied and understood aspect of the manufacturing process; however, it has one of the
most significant effects on the strength and durability of the final product and in 2006
accounted for nearly 17% of the direct manufacturing costs (Spelter et al. 2006).

The application of resin onto the strands begins when the strands are fed from dry strand bins
and deposited in the blender. Blenders are between 8 and 11 feet in diameter and extend 20
to 35 feet in length. As the drum rotates at typically between 8 and 22 RPM the strands
tumble along its length and become resinated (Smith 2005).
-3-

The strands are resinated using either a series of spinning disc atomizers mounted along the
drums axis of rotation for liquid resin, or using a conveyor metering system for powdered
resin. Spinning disc atomizers are the predominant system employed in blenders
commissioned since the early-1990s. The objective of blending is to achieve a uniform resin
distribution on both sides of all strands. The ability of the process to effectively resinate the
strands is dependent on the overall blender design, such as the drum diameter, atomizer
locations, and flight design; as well as on the operational environment, such as the rotational
speed, fill level, and tilt angle of the blender (Coil 2007b; Coil 2008; Maloney and Huffaker
1984; Smith 2005; Smith 2006).

1.1 Rationale
The respective market share of structural products composed of reconstituted wood strands is
forecast to continue increasing. This is particularly true for OSB where its share of the
structural panel demand in North America has increased from approximately 35% in 1995 to
63% in 2008. OSB market share is forecast to further increase to approximately 72% by
2012 (Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 2008).

In addition to OSBs market share growth however, there is great potential for LSL and OSL
to increase their share of the framing lumber market. LSL and OSL are both members of the
family of products referred to as engineered wood products (EWP). Currently, EWP only
capture approximately 30% of the potential 12 BBF North American framing lumber market,
with the sub-sector of wood strand-based products only accounting for 5% (Figure 2)
(Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 2008).

-4-

Figure 2. Size of the total North American framing lumber market and the potential market
size for engineered wood products (adapted from: Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 2008).

Although the five year period between 2001 and 2006 saw the growth of the wood strand-
based product sector outpace the growth of the overall construction market (by 11%
compared to 2% (Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 2008), continued growth will be largely
dependant on the relative manufacturing costs. As an example, in 2004 the average total
manufacturing cost for structural lumber, OSL, and LSL was similar. Lumber was 188
US$/m
3
,
while OSL and LSL were approximately 180 US$/m
3
(International Wood Markets
Group 2006; Spelter et al. 2006). These figures assume that OSL and LSL have a similar
cost structure as OSB. In reality the cost of OSL and LSL will be marginally greater than
OSB because of the type of resin employed, product density, and wood utilization.
Subsequently, the costs are likely nearer, or even past those of structural lumber.

In recent years the total manufacturing cost of wood strand-based products has faced
increased pressure. In 2006 the average cost reached 201 US$/m
3
of OSB (Table 1) (Spelter
et al. 2006). Much of this increase was caused by escalating wood costs, affecting solid
lumber and EWP alike. In addition to wood costs however, wood strand-based products have
experienced escalating resin costs, increasing by 61% between 2000 and 2006 (Table 1)
(Spelter et al. 2006). Increasing resin costs have created a need to optimize and subsequently
reduce the amount of resin employed in the manufacture of these products in order to remain
LVL & I-Joists
25%
Applications
suitable for EWP
substitution

50%
Lumber

70%
OSL & LSL
5%
Total North America
Framing Lumber
(~24 BBF)
Current & Potential
EWP Market
(~12 BBF)
Potential Market
Growth for EWP
-5-
cost competitive in the structural panel and framing markets. Optimization is only possible
however if there exists a thorough understanding of the process in which resin is applied to
the strands in a rotary drum blender.

Table 1. OSB costs for benchmark north-central US mills from 2000 to 2006 (data from:
Spelter et al. 2006).
Cost (US$/m
3
)
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Direct costs
Wood 56 54 53 60 67 85 82
Labor 20 20 20 21 21 22 22
Resin 18 19 19 26 27 32 29
Wax 6 6 6 7 7 8 7
Energy 11 13 12 15 17 19 19
Supplies 14 14 14 15 15 15 15
Total direct 125 125 124 144 154 181 175
Fixed costs
General 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Depreciation 23 21 20 21 20 20 20
Total fixed 29 27 26 27 26 26 26
Total costs 154 153 150 171 180 207 201

There are only a few studies on the operation of a rotary drum blender in the literature with
these dating from the mid-1980s (Beattie 1984; Coil and Kasper 1984; Lin 1984). More
recently, Smith (2005) examined the modes of tumbling in a full-sized rotary drum blender.
All of these studies were focused on OSB. To date there have not been any published studies
on the blending of OSL and LSL. The blending of these products differs from OSB in
several important aspects. First, OSL and LSL strands exceed 6 inches in length, while OSB
strands rarely exceed 5 inches. Second, LSL operations only employ polymeric diphenyl
methane diisocyanate (pMDI) resin, compared with OSB operations that typically use a
combination of phenol formaldehyde (PF) and pMDI resins.

During blending approximately 3.5% resin based on the oven dry weight of furnish is added.
The precise amount depends on the operation, resin type, and product grade (Spelter et al.
2006). As indicated, resin costs are a major materials cost in the production of wood strand-
based products. Because PF- and pMDI-resins are derived from crude-oil and natural gas
(Table 2 and Figure 3), it is very likely that resin costs will remain high or even increase over
the next five years. Significant resin savings may be possible through blending optimization.
-6-
Due to the large volume of resin used in the manufacture of strand technology products, even
small decreases in resin consumption will lead to significant savings.

Table 2. Pricing data for the constituents of PF- and pMDI-resin from 1999 to 2005 (data
from: Winchester 2005).
Methanol
US$/USG
Urea
US$/ton
Phenol
US$/lb
Crude Oil
US$/Barrel
Natural Gas
US$/MMBTU
1999 0.26 0.40 100 140 0.25 0.36 17 3.75
2001 0.35 0.80 140 290 0.30 0.40 24 5.24
2003 0.75 1.00 160 230 0.40 0.45 26 5.81
2005 0.90 0.95 270 - 300 0.50 0.70 60+ 9.80

Figure 3. Flow chart showing the basic constituents that are used in the production of PF-
and pMDI-resin. The shaded constituents are included in Table 2 (adapted from: Winchester
2005).

The design and operation of rotary drum blenders has remained virtually unchanged since the
mid-1980s when the long-retention time, Mainland Manufacturing blenders emerged as the
blender of choice amongst the wood strand-based product industry. Although Mainland
Manufacturing has subsequently been bought out by Coil Manufacturing, very little has been
changed with regards to the operation and design of the blenders. In general, as the capacity
demands have increased over the years with new, sophisticated operations, the blender
dimensions have been scaled up. In the 1950s and 60s, rotary drum blenders were 4 to 5 feet
in diameter and 20 feet long (Coil 2002; Watkins 1981). More recently, blenders can be up
to 11 feet in diameter and 45 feet long (Coil 2007b; Coil and Kasper 1984; Smith 2005).
While this process of scaling the blenders has been widely accepted throughout the industry,
as previously mentioned resin costs have placed increased pressure on the end users of rotary
Phenol
PF
Formaldehyde
Methanol
Natural Gas
pMDI
Phenol
Formaldehyde
Methanol
Crude Oil
Benzene
-7-
drum blenders to optimize the process. The primary challenge hindering progress is the lack
of research into the inner dynamics of the blending process and the inability to quantify and
model the bulk strand flow.

In the past, blender design and operating parameters have been selected based on visual
inspection and past experience. Although these empirical approaches have resulted in a
blender design that fits with the spectrum of end-users needs and a reasonable understanding
of the impact design and operating parameters have on the strand flow, a quantitative,
systematic approach is necessary to further enhance the process.

1.2 Objectives and structure of thesis
This study seeks to understand the blending process by developing and evaluating a
quantitative discrete element model (DEM) of the blending process.

Chapter 2: Literature review on discrete element modeling and friction. A review of static,
kinetic, and rolling friction will facilitate the selection of initial coefficients as
input parameters in the DEM. Additionally, this review will help to understand
how these coefficients should change to achieve better correlation between the
simulated and laboratory results.
Chapter 3: Determination of static friction coefficients between Aspen wood strands and
between an Aspen wood strand and high density polyethylene. The flights and
the inside liner of the blender are constructed of either high density polyethylene
or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. For the purpose of this project, and
because the specifications of these two materials do not differ considerably, it
will be assumed that the liner and flights are both constructed of high density
polyethylene. The friction values will be used as a starting point within the
EDEM software package and may be adjusted accordingly during a subsequent
study.
Chapter 4: Calibration of the rotary drum blending model (RDBM) with experiments
conducted in the 6 foot laboratory blender. This process will be completed by
adjusting various material and interaction properties in the model.
Chapter 5: Completion of an exploratory study aimed at determining the impact several
blender design and operating parameters have on the bulk strand flow within a
-8-
simulated 6 foot blender. This study will provide a profound understanding of
the impact changes made to the blending environment will have on the strand
flow through a blender.
Chapter 6: Evaluation of potential future work. As the software and computing technology
advances many of the limitations that were present during this project will
become less significant. The most logical progression will be the scaling of the
simulated blender up to a full size industrial blender. This will enable research
to be completed that focuses on the impact blender tilt angle has on the residence
time of strands.

-9-
CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Rotary drum blending
Rotary drum blending has been the method used for coating wood strands with resin and wax
for the manufacture of oriented strand board since this products industrial emergence in the
late-1970s (Moeltner 1980). In fact, this blending technique was also employed for OSBs
predecessor, waferboard, since its emergence in 1955 (Gunn 1972). Although the resin was
applied exclusively in a powdered form until the mid- to late-1970s, the fundamental process
was similar to todays blenders that tend to employ liquid resins.

During the blending process strands enter from one end of the blender and are then lifted by a
series of flights, which extend from the inside of the drums circumference. The strands
eventually fall from the flights and migrate along the length of the blender. This process
repeats until the strands are discharged from the opposite end of the blender. The rate of
migration along the blender length is a function of the blender tilt angle. As reported by
Smith (Smith 2005), the strands move forward the most while they are in freefall. As the
strands move along blender length they are coated with wax and resin.

The manner in which powdered and liquid resin adhere to and coat the strands is
considerably different. While powdered resin adheres to the strands via the wax droplets that
are applied at the onset of the blending process, liquid resin adheres directly to the strands in
droplet form (Coil 2002). The transition towards liquid resin was largely driven by the
relative cost advantage of liquid resin, the health concerns caused by the dust from powdered
resin, and the relatively high wax content required to improve the affinity of the powdered
resin to the wood surface (Chiu and Scott 1981; Maloney and Huffaker 1984).

Early rotary drum blenders were 4 to 5 feet in diameter and 20 to 25 feet long (Coil 2002;
Watkins 1981). By the early 1980s it was widely accepted that blender diameters of 8 feet
and greater were required to ensure adequate resin coverage on the strands and/or wafers and
to meet capacity requirements (Beattie 1981). At around this same time liquid resin
-10-
increased in popularity and a system was developed and adopted across the industry for
metering liquid resin into the blenders and distributing it onto the strands. This system
involved using a series of spinning disc atomizers (Beattie 1984; Coil and Kasper 1984; Lin
1984). After several variations in the positioning of these atomizers within the blenders
(Figures 4 and 5), a design was eventually accepted whereby the atomizers were mounted
along a stationary shaft running down the length of the blender. The atomizers were
positioned to disperse resin in a horizontal plane. Except for the plane of the spray pattern
and the stationary shaft or boom, this design was similar to Turners design (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Turners spinning disc blender showing a vertical spray pattern (adapted from:
Beattie 1984).

Resin spray
region
Spinning
disc
Rotating
shaft
-11-

Figure 5. Lignex spinning disc blender showing a diagonal spray pattern (adapted from:
Beattie 1984).

Modern blenders are provided nearly exclusively by Coil Manufacturing Limited of Surrey,
British Columbia. Their blenders range in size from 8 feet in diameter and 20 feet long up to
11 feet in diameter and 45 feet long; however, the 11 foot diameter blenders are most
common in newer operations requiring relatively high capacity (Coil 2007b; Smith 2005).
These blenders operate with strand volumes ranging from 25% to 50% of the blender volume
and with a tilt angle of approximately 3. Blenders revolve at between 8 and 22 RPM
depending on the blender diameter, number of flights, flight height, and resin type (Coil
2008). As a general rule, liquid resins require higher speeds than powdered resins and as the
diameter increases the speed decreases (Coil 2008).

2.2 Discrete element method
Discrete element methods (DEM), or distinct element methods as they are also known
(Cundall 1989), are a family of numerical techniques suitable for modeling the movement
and interaction of rigid or deformable bodies, particles, or arbitrary shapes that have been
subjected to external stresses or forces (Bicanic 2004). As reported by Mustoe and Miyata
(2001), most of these methods are based on cylindrical- or spherical-shaped particles because
of the inherent ease in detecting contacts between particles. In recent years there has been an
increased number of DEMs based on noncircular-shaped bodies, such as polygonal bodies,
for specific applications. The vast majority of the commercially available software packages
Resin spray
region
Spinning
disc
Resin
feed
-12-
however, still rely on cylindrical- or spherical-shaped particles for 2D and 3D modeling
respectively. These particles may be clustered and/or overlapped rigidly or elastically to
form different shaped bodies (Collop et al. 2004; Mustoe 2001).

DEMs are based on Newtons Second Law of Motion (Bertrand et al. 2005; Serway 2000):

i total i i
F a m
,
= [1]
or,
i total
i
i
F
dt
x d
m
,
2
2
= [2]
where:
m
i
is the mass of particle i,
a
i
is the acceleration of particle i,
x
i
is the position of particle i, and
F
i
is the total force acting on particle i.

This equation is used to calculate the total force that acts on a particle due to a collision and
is subsequently integrated to find the respective particles new velocity and distance of travel
(Bertrand et al. 2005). During a simulation, the location of all particles is tracked at a
specified time interval. When a collision between particles is detected Newtons Second
Law of Motion is applied to determine each particles resulting position and velocity. Figure
6 shows the steps of a typical DEM algorithm.

Figure 6. Flow chart for operations performed in a typical DEM algorithm (Schafer et al.
2001).
Calculate force increment
caused by each contact
between particles
Calculate velocity and
position increments caused
by forces
Find which particles have
come into contact
t = t + t

-13-

Although the basis of the DEM approach is relatively straight forward, the computational
requirements quickly become overwhelming when more than a few particles are present.
Because DEMs are routinely used for simulating a large number of particles, the
effectiveness of the method is largely dependent on the ability of the model algorithms to
detect particle contacts quickly and efficiently (Bicanic 2004).

There are several DEMs that have been developed for describing how the particles behave
when they come into contact with each other. A typical DEM has the following features
(Cundall 1989; Bertrand et al. 2005; Mustoe 2001):
1. They allow finite displacements and rotations of discrete bodies, including complete
detachment, and
2. They recognize new contacts automatically as the calculation progresses.

Two of the more commonly applied models include the linear spring-dashpot model and the
Hertz Mindlin model. As Bertrand (2005) described, the principal difference between these
two models is that the linear spring-dashpot model considers any particle contact to lead to
inelastic deformation, while models based on Hertz theory considers this contact to lead to
elastic deformation. There is no consensus on what model is best; however, DEM solutions
(2008) report that the linear spring model is simpler because it requires less computational
overhead. For EDEM, the selected software package for this research project, the Hertz
Mindlin model is the default model because of its accurate and efficient force calculation
(DEM Solutions 2008). This model was also used for the duration of this project.
Ultimately, the choice of model will depend on the environment being simulated and the
ability to validate the results. For additional information concerning the choice of models,
Bertrand (2005) provides a reasonable explanation of several of the more commonly
employed models. Additionally, Cundall and Strack (1979) and DEM Solutions (2008)
provide information on the model algorithms.

2.2.1 Applications for discrete element methods
The DEM was first pioneered by Cundall (1971) for problems involving rock mechanics.
Since the early-1970s this method has branched out and adapted for use in a wide range of
engineering applications. Mining has perhaps benefited most from DEMs where they have
-14-
been shown to be particularly effective at analyzing granular material flow, power draw, and
liner wear in semi-autogenous grinding mills (Cleary 1998; Cleary 2006; Djordjevic et al.
2004; McIvor 1983; Mishra and Rajamani 1992; Powell 1991). In addition to mining, other
industries that have benefited include: pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, advanced
materials, and food (Bertrand et al. 2005).

An area that has gained recent attention is the modeling of granular material mixing. This
topic covers a variety of industries, but its significance is seen most prominently in the
pharmaceutical manufacturing arena. As Bertrand (2005) reported, even slight changes to
ingredient properties or process operating conditions can have significant implications on the
quality of a drug and/or resulting health effects. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies
are reluctant to make process changes based on DEM results alone and still rely heavily on
process monitoring to ensure quality (Bertrand et al. 2005).

Despite the widespread use of DEMs in various engineering applications, it has never been
used specifically for modeling the rotary drum blending of wood strand-based particles;
however, its successful use in semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and other rotating drum type
processes suggests that it is possible (Kaneko et al. 2000; Moakher et al. 2000; Stewart et al.
2001). In this process wood strands are deposited inside a rotating drum at the front end.
The strands are then lifted by a series of flights and cascade and tumble along the drum
length. The dynamics of the process are similar to those encountered in a SAG mill;
however, the process objectives more closely resemble those of pill coating in the
pharmaceutical industry (Thibault 2008).

In a rotary drum blender as the strands migrate along the drum length resin is applied in
either liquid or powdered form. The objective is to maximize the resin deposition on the
strands and the distribution of resin amongst the strands, while minimizing strand breakage.
In a SAG mill the aim is to breakdown and grind the rocks. As mentioned, the objectives of
resination are therefore more closely related to those of pill coating. In pill coating the pills
tumble in a drum while a coating is sprayed onto them. Although the primary objective is to
coat the pills, the pills must also remain intact in order to avoid contamination (Thibault
2008). Because DEMs, and in particular the EDEM software package, have been used for
-15-
modeling both processes it is believed that this is a suitable method for modeling the rotary
drum blending process as well.

For this project a DEM will be used for simulating the trajectory and distribution of strands
as the blender revolves. The primary challenges associated with its use are the relatively
high slenderness ratio and thinness of the wood strands and the large quantity of strands in
the process. Simplifications and assumptions will be required to assemble a model that can
simulate the process with reasonable accuracy and within a reasonable time span.

2.3 Friction
Friction forces are a critical phenomenon when performing discrete element modeling. For
objects that slide relative to each other the key friction properties are static and kinetic
friction (Serway 2000). The only difference between the equations used for determining
these two forms of friction is the relevant coefficient of friction, . This equation is known
as Amontons Law (Equation 3).

i N f
F F = [3]

where:

i
is either static kinetic friction, and
F
N
is the normal force.

If the shape of an object permits rolling to occur, such as a sphere, then the resistance to
rolling manifests as a torque that opposes the direction of rolling, T
f
(Equation 4). Rolling
friction is caused by the deformation of either the rolling sphere/cylinder or the plane (Figure
7).

R N f
F T = [4]
where:
F
N
is the normal force, and

R
is the rolling coefficient.

-16-

Figure 7. Diagram showing the pair of forces that determines the friction torque, where F
N
is
the reaction force acting on the object by the plane and F
g
is the normal component of the
objects weight. The coefficient of rolling friction is the arm of the pair of forces (Domenech
et al. 1987).

According to Amontons Law, knowledge of the coefficient of friction is vital when
examining the interaction between objects. Because this coefficient depends on the
interaction between surfaces of different objects, it is most accurately considered to be a
system property rather than a material property. This is particularly relevant for this research
as true coefficients of frictions were not known. Instead coefficients were chosen based on
the resemblance of the model system to the actual observed systems.

For modeling the rotary drum blending process for wood strands there are broadly three
systems of objects that must be considered: strands and flights, strands and drum liner, and
the interaction between strands themselves. In light of the limited published information
pertaining to the static coefficient of friction values for the aforementioned systems, a series
of tests aimed at determining the respective values for the particular materials used in the
laboratory was conducted. Because it was anticipated that during the modeling stage the
drum liner and flights would be grouped as one material type, the strand and drum liner
interaction was dropped and instead replaced with the strand and flight interaction properties.

Classic theoretical research related to static and kinetic friction has shown that frictional
coefficients are independent of surface area and contact pressure. However, more recently
Bejo et al (2000) found that these generalizations are not necessarily true if at least one of
the [objects] in the system is wood or a wood-based composite. As a result, the initial study
Lower rolling friction Higher rolling friction
F
g

F
g

F
N

F
N

-17-
of this project focused predominately on determining the relationship between the range of
contact pressures that may be encountered during blending and the friction coefficient.

-18-
CHAPTER 3

LABORATORY DETERMINED COEFFICIENT OF STATIC FRICTION

3.1 Introduction
Friction coefficients are perhaps the most important material interaction property to consider
when developing a rotary drum blending model based on the discrete element method
because of the significant impact they have on particle dynamics (DEM Solutions 2008). As
described in section 2.3, assigning the respective friction coefficients is complicated by the
fact that the friction coefficients within systems involving at least one wood substrate are
dependent on the contact pressure. The selected software package for this research, EDEM,
assumes constant coefficients regardless of the contact pressure, as is widely accepted for
most systems of materials. In addition, most of the published friction coefficient values for
systems involving wood are based on clear wood blocks, rather than strands. Wood strands
tend to be less smooth and relatively flexible, generally resulting in higher coefficients. As a
result, a series of experiments were conducted in the laboratory to determine the impact of
contact pressure and wood grain orientation on the coefficient of friction for wood on wood
and wood on polyethylene (PE) systems of materials. Collectively, these experiments will
investigate all of the material interactions that will occur during the simulations: strand
strand, strand flight, and strand blender liner.

It was hypothesized that the coefficient of friction would increase with decreasing contact
pressure and that the coefficient of friction would increase from parallel parallel to parallel
perpendicular and to perpendicular perpendicular grain orientation. These results will
be used as a starting point for the initial development of the RDBM. Subsequently, blending
experiments and simulations will be compared to adjust these values until there is close
correspondence in the strand dynamics.

Objectives:
1. To determine the relationship between contact pressure and coefficient of friction for
wood wood and wood PE systems of materials,
-19-
2. To determine the relationship between grain orientation and coefficient of friction for
wood wood and wood PE systems of materials, and
3. To determine the ratio between the coefficients of friction for wood wood and wood
PE systems of materials.

3.2 Materials
A total of 40 sliced veneer, aspen wood strands were randomly selected from a 10.1 kg bag
of strands. The strands had been previously cut to approximately 12 inches long by 1
inches wide and 0.030 inches thick. Aspen strands were used in this case because it
represents the predominant species used in the manufacturing of wood strand-based products
in Canada (Industry Canada 2007). There were two requirements for the selected strands.
First, the strands had to have an area that was at least 9 inches by 1 inches void of any
splits, and second the strands could not exhibit excessive warp. Either of these flaws could
impact the experiment.

The selected strands were divided into two sets of twenty, one to be used as the primary
surface and one to be used as the secondary surface. The primary surface strands were
trimmed to 9 inches by 1 inches using a guillotine paper cutter, removing any splits or
defects. The edges of the strands were then lightly sanded using 220 grit sandpaper to
remove any burrs that might otherwise affect the test results. The secondary surface strands
were prepared in a similar manner; however, they were trimmed to 8 inches by 1 inch so that
they would easily lay flat atop the primary strands without their edges contacting. If the
edges were to come in contact the concern was that any remaining burrs may mechanically
interlock, resulting in a confounded reading of the static friction coefficient. These relatively
large strands were used for this experiment because it provided adequate room for weights to
be added to the surfaces, as described in Section 3.3. Ultimately the surface area does not
impact the friction coefficient so this was assumed to be a reasonable simplification for the
test procedure (Serway 2000).

The strands in each set were labeled 1 through 20 with the appropriate suffix added: a for
the primary surface strands and b for the secondary surface strands (Figure 8). Each set of
strands was then lightly clamped with a protective wood block on either face. Clamping
helped to prevent the strands from warping before testing.
-20-

Figure 8. Photograph of sliced aspen veneer strands, (a) primary surface and (b) secondary
surface.

In addition to the wood samples, two HDPE specimens were also prepared. The samples
were removed from an extra 5 inches T-flight for the 6 foot by 3-foot Coil laboratory
blender. The flight was trimmed into two specimens measuring 9 inches by 4 inches and
8 inches by 1 inches. The edges of the samples were also sanded using 220 grit
sandpaper to remove any burrs and then washed in warm water and left to air dry.

3.3 Procedure
The experimental procedure is based on the inclined plane technique (American Standards
for Testing and Materials 2002a; American Standards for Testing and Materials 2002b; Bejo
et al. 2000). This method was selected because of its relative simplicity and the shape of the
test specimens. A photograph of the testing apparatus is shown in Figure 9.

a b
1-inch
-21-

Figure 9. Inclined plane jig with the various components indicated ((1) scissor lift, (2)
measuring guides, (3) platform with stop block, (4) raised primary surface platform, (5)
bullseye level, (6) base, and (7) leveling glides).

The coefficient of static friction for the system involving two wood strands was determined
using five combinations of primary and secondary surface strands. These combinations were
generated using a random number generator in Microsoft Excel (Table 3).

Table 3. Strand combinations used for static friction coefficient tests.
Pair Primary surface
strand
Secondary surface
strand
1 9 18
2 5 17
3 14 18
4 19 9
5 8 11

Because of the orthotropic nature of wood, each combination was tested for all three
combinations of grain orientation. In addition, seven contact pressures were used to study
the impact contact pressure has on the coefficient of static friction. The included orientations
and target contact pressures are listed below:
1. Strand orientations (secondary on primary): parallel - parallel, perpendicular
perpendicular, and perpendicular - parallel.
2. Target contact pressures: 23 Pa, 47 Pa, 94 Pa, 188 Pa, 375 Pa, 750 Pa, and 1500 Pa.

2
1
3
6
7
7
4
2
5
-22-
For each orientation the primary surface strand was attached to the raised primary platform
using double-sided tape. The platform was then placed on the inclined plane in contact with
the stop block.

The secondary surface strand was attached to one of two sled designs (Figure 10) also using
double-sided tape. For the first two strand orientations the sled equipped with dowel
extensions was used for contact pressures greater than, and including, 188 Pa. Weights were
hung from the extensions to adjust the contact pressure (Figure 11). For contact pressures
less than 188 Pa, the sled equipped with an adhesive surface was used. This was necessary
as the first sled produced a contact pressure that was greater than 94 Pa without the addition
of any weights. Small weights were attached to the adhesive surface of the second sled to
adjust the contact pressure. For the third strand orientation the second sled was used
exclusively. Because the contact surface area was significantly less for the third orientation,
the weights had to be reduced accordingly to achieve the appropriate contact pressure. For
each pair of strands the same surfaces were in contact for the three orientations tested.

Figure 10. Two sleds used for the inclined plane test, (left) sled equipped with dowels for
larger contact pressures and (right) sled equipped with adhesive surface for lower contact
pressures.

1-inch
-23-
Figure 11. Photograph of the testing procedure for the coefficient of static friction of wood
strands using the inclined plane technique, showing a parallel parallel orientation.

For the coefficient of static friction tests involving wood strands and HDPE the same test
format was followed, including three orientations and seven contact pressures. Instead of
using a variety of HDPE samples however, only two were used. The larger HDPE sample
was used for the first two orientations and the smaller sample was used for the third
orientation. In all three cases the HDPE was the primary surface and the wood strand was
the secondary surface. The HDPE sample was placed directly on the inclining plane in
contact with the stop block for the first two orientations. For the third orientation the HDPE
was attached to the raised platform, which was then placed on the inclined plane. The raised
platform added stability to the HDPE sample, preventing it from shifting during the tests.

The same secondary surface strands from the first set of tests were used for this second set of
tests. The secondary surface was prepared identically as before using the two sleds.

After the strands were mounted to the respective surfaces the testing apparatus was leveled
using the adjustable glides. The appropriate weight was then added to the sled. The angle of
inclination was slowly increased until the secondary surface began to slip along the primary
surface. The heights from the base of the apparatus to two predetermined points along the
inclined plane as well as the distance between those two points along the inclined plane, the
-24-
hypotenuse, were recorded when the sled began to slip. These measurement points remained
constant across all of the tests. The coefficient of static friction was then determined
according to Equation 5. This procedure was repeated for each contact pressure, strand
orientation, and system of materials. The complete set of results were then analyzed using
SAS version 9.1 to develop a model that predicted the coefficient of static friction based on
the material combination, orientation, and contact pressure.

=
l
h h
1 2
arcsin tan [5]

Figure 12. Schematic of inclined plane jig showing measurement locations for Equation 5.

3.4 Results
The test results aimed at determining the coefficients of static friction for strand to strand and
strand to flight interactions clearly showed a decreasing coefficient of static friction value for
increasing contact pressures (Table 4, Figure 13, Table 5, and Figure 14). This is particularly
apparent when increasing from 23 Pa to 94 Pa. The coefficient of static friction appears to be
constant for pressures greater than and including 94 Pa. These results are consistent with
hypotenuse, l
height 2, h
2

height 1, h
1

-25-
those obtained by Bejo et al. (2000). Bejo found that as the contact pressure decreased below
approximately 5 kPa the coefficient of static friction increased substantially. Above 5 kPa the
static friction coefficient began to stabilize. It was also found that the grain orientation had a
considerable impact

Table 4. Summary of test results for the coefficient of static friction between two wood
strands at 22C and 55% relative humidity
1
.
Approximate contact pressure (Pa) Primary
strand
orientation
Secondary
strand
orientation

23 47 94 188 375 750 1500
Parallel Parallel Mean 0.63 0.55 0.53 0.49 0.41 0.44 0.41
COV % 24 21 19 17 26 20 25
Perpendicular Perpendicular Mean 0.88 0.81 0.77 0.66 0.64 0.63 0.70
COV % 13 12 19 12 12 18 6
Parallel Perpendicular Mean 0.89 0.60 0.50 0.51 0.41 0.36 0.35
COV % 28 11 20 15 10 12 11
1
Average ambient strand moisture content was 9.2%.

0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600
Contact Pressure (Pa)
S
t
a
t
i
c

C
O
F
PERP/PERP
PAR/PERP
PAR/PAR

Figure 13. Static coefficient of friction between two wood strands for increasing contact
pressures and different strand sample orientations.
Perpendicular - Perpendicular
Parallel - Parallel
Parallel - Perpendicular
-26-

Table 5. Summary of test results for the coefficient of static friction between a wood strand
and HDPE at 22C and 55% relative humidity
2
.
Approximate contact pressure (Pa) Primary
strand
orientation
Secondary
strand
orientation

23 47 94 188 375 750 1500
Parallel Parallel Mean 0.31 0.30 0.26 0.22 0.24 0.25 0.24
COV % 16 23 12 12 8 6 16
Perpendicular Perpendicular Mean 0.38 0.31 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.28 0.28
COV % 18 10 9 6 1 8 5
Parallel Perpendicular Mean 0.39 0.40 0.32 0.29 0.26 0.26 0.27
COV % 20 20 12 20 27 12 17
2
Average ambient strand moisture content was 9.2%.

0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600
Contact Pressure (Pa)
S
t
a
t
i
c

C
O
F
PERP/PER
P
PAR/PERP
PAR/PAR

Figure 14. Static coefficient of friction between a wood strand and HDPE for increasing
contact pressures and different strand and HDPE sample orientations.

The test results were analyzed using multiple regression analysis in SAS version 9.1. A
logarithm transformation was necessary to normalize the data so that a model could be fit
that accurately predicted the static friction coefficient (Equation 6), while meeting the
assumptions of multiple linear regression analysis at a = 0.05 (Kleinbaum 1988).

Perpendicular - Perpendicular
Parallel - Parallel
Parallel - Perpendicular
-27-
) ( ) (
2 10 1 0
10
x b x Log b b
s
+ +
=

[6]
where:
s
is the predicted static friction coefficient,
x is the contact pressure in pascals, and
b
i
is the predicted parameters for i = 0 to 2.

The appropriate coefficients for the respective systems of materials and orientation are shown
in Tables 6 and 7. In general, these results show an approximate 2:1 ratio between the static
coefficient of friction for wood to wood and wood to HDPE. The complete SAS analysis is
included in Appendix A. It is important to note that this relationship has only been verified
for the range of data presented above and at the ambient temperature and relative humidity
encountered during the test, i.e. approximately 21
o
C and 50% respectively.

Table 6. Regression parameters for determining the coefficient of static friction between two
wood strands at 22C and 55% relative humidity.
Primary strand
orientation
Secondary strand
orientation
b
0
b
1
b
2

Parallel Parallel 4.242 x 10
-2
-1.748 x 10
-1
8.835 x 10
-5
Perpendicular Perpendicular 1.112 x 10
-1
-1.290 x 10
-1
8.835 x 10
-5

Parallel Perpendicular 2.454 x 10
-1
-2.634 x 10
-1
8.835 x 10
-5

Table 7. Regression parameters for determining the coefficient of static friction between a
wood strand and HDPE at 22C and 55% relative humidity.
HDPE orientation Strand orientation b
0
b
1
b
2

Parallel Parallel -3.530 x 10
-1
-1.222 x 10
-1
8.835 x 10
-5
Perpendicular Perpendicular -2.842 x 10
-1
-1.216 x 10
-1
8.835 x 10
-5

Parallel Perpendicular -1.500 x 10
-1
-1.179 x 10
-1
8.835 x 10
-5

3.5 Conclusions
The coefficient of static friction tests confirmed previous work by Bejo et al. (2000) where it
was found that, contrary to classical theoretical research pertaining to friction, the coefficient
of static friction is in fact dependent on the contact pressure between surfaces when at least
one surface is wood. In general, the contact pressure and coefficient of friction were
inversely related, as the contact pressure decreased the friction coefficient increased and
vice-versa. It was also found that the coefficient of friction was highest when the wood
grains were aligned perpendicular - perpendicular and least when they were aligned parallel -
parallel to the sloped plane. Finally, the relationship between the coefficient of friction
between two aspen strands versus that between an aspen strand and HDPE was found to be
approximately 2:1.
-28-

These findings suggest that knowledge of the contact pressures encountered during the
blending operation is necessary to fully describe the slipping of strands in the RDBM.
Because the currently available discrete element modeling software packages are unable to
accommodate for a variable coefficient of static friction, a value must be selected that results
in the most accurate resemblance between the RDBM simulations and the actual observed
dynamics. As an initial starting point for the model validation process, the average of the
two extreme strand orientations will be used together with the average of the higher, more
rapidly changing friction coefficients (contact pressure 188 pa) and the lower, more stable
friction coefficients (contact pressure >188 pa).

-29-
CHAPTER 4

DETERMINATION OF SUITABLE MATERIAL AND INTERACTION
PROPERTIES FOR USE AS INPUT PARAMETERS IN THE RDBM

4.1 Introduction
The RDBM required the input of three mechanical properties for each material used in a
simulation and three interaction properties for each pair of materials that may come in
contact during a simulation (Tables 8 and 9). While all of these properties must be included
for a simulation to be initiated, not all of them have a significant effect on the bulk strand
dynamics. Instead, some of these properties are only significant outside of the tested ranges
and/or are used for measuring incidents of little consequence to this study, such as
compressive forces acting on the particles. Because this research is focused predominantly
on measuring the bulk strand flow within a rotary drum blender, it is only necessary to select
representative values for those factors that are vital to the accurate representation of said
strand flow.

Table 8. Required material and interaction properties for the RDBM.
Material properties Interaction properties
Modulus of rigidity (G) Coefficient of restitution
Poissons ratio () Coefficient of rolling friction
Density () Coefficient of static friction

Table 9. Materials used and materials that may come in contact in the RDBM.
Materials Interactions
Aspen wood strands Strand - Strand
Polyethylene
1
Strand - Polyethylene
1
Polyethylene (PE) has been used here to describe both the high density polyethylene
flights (HDPE) and the ultra high molecular weight polyethylene drum liner
(UHMW). This will be discussed further in section 4.2.1.

Focusing on the behavior of the overall system introduces several inherent challenges. First,
published values for these properties are typically based on measurements taken of individual
pieces of clear wood samples. These values may or may not be accurate for characterizing
the behavior of large collections of strands. They do however provide a useful foundation for
beginning such research. Second, these properties must also incorporate other events that are
occurring in an actual rotary drum blender but are not able to be incorporated into the model
-30-
because of constraints, such as the representation of strands using a series of spheres or the
lack of any air flow dynamics in the model.

In addition to potentially affecting the strand dynamics, preliminary simulations and
literature (DEM Solutions 2008) have also shown that the material properties have a
significant impact on the processing time for a simulation. The processing time increases
with increasing shear modulus of rigidity and decreases with increasing density and
Poissons ratio. If it can be found that any of the above listed material properties do not
significantly impact the bulk material dynamics then values may be chosen that minimize the
time required for processing a simulation. The relationship between the density, ; modulus
of rigidity, G; Poissons ratio, ; particle radius, R; and processing time as represented by the
idealized time step, T
R
is (DEM Solutions 2008):

+
=
G
R
T
R

8766 . 0 1631 . 0
. [7]

In this case where strands are being modeled, the particle radius refers to the individual
particles, or spheres, that are joined to form a strand. As a result, the particle radius is inch
as will be discussed further in Section 4.2.2.

This study was therefore divided into two distinct phases. The first phase consisted of two 2-
level, full factorial experimental designs aimed at determining which material properties and
interaction properties were in fact significant to the overall strand dynamics. The second
phase consisted of a systematic series of simulations aimed at determining suitable values for
those properties that were deemed significant during phase 1. Published values and
experimental results from section 3.4 were employed as initial values from which these
values were improved upon. In order to assess the effectiveness of the tested values at
accurately simulating the bulk strand flow, a series of experiments were simultaneously
conducted and video recorded in a 6 foot laboratory blender for validation purposes. It was
hypothesized in this leg of the project that there is a particular set of input parameters that
produces simulated bulk strand flow that is reasonably similar to reality.

Although there are several materials involved in this process (HDPE, UHMW, and Aspen
wood strands), this study focused exclusively on the material properties of Aspen wood
-31-
strands for several reasons. First, because of the large quantity of strands used in the
simulation, it was assumed through consultation with the software providers that changes
made to the material properties of the strands has a significantly larger impact than changes
made to the material properties of either the blender liner or flights. And second, the
software package assumes the materials to be isotropic. Wood strands are highly anisotropic
and therefore there is not a single value for each of the mechanical properties available in the
public literature (USDA, Forest Products Laboratory 1999). Instead, these values were
selected based on exploratory simulations using published ranges.

Objectives:
1. To determine which material and interaction properties are significant to the bulk
strand flow, and
2. To assign suitable values to those properties deemed to be significant.

4.2 Procedure
4.2.1 Screening design
The significance of the six factors listed in Table 8 was determined using a full factorial, 2
k

design for each the material and the interaction properties (Montgomery 2005; Pyzdek 2003).
Two individual 2
k
designs were followed to minimize the required number of runs and to
facilitate clarity in the results (Table 10). This required that it be assumed there would not be
any significant interactions between the two groups. In total, 16 simulation runs were
required.

Table 10. (Left) Aspen wood strand material properties and (right) interaction properties
simulation design.
Simulation Factors
Run Modulus
of rigidity
Poissons
ratio
Density
1 -1 -1 -1
2 -1 -1 1
3 -1 1 -1
4 1 -1 -1
5 1 1 -1
6 1 -1 1
7 -1 1 1
8 1 1 1
Simulation Factors
Run
Coefficient
of
restitution
Coefficient
of rolling
friction
Coefficient
of static
friction
1 -1 -1 -1
2 -1 -1 1
3 -1 1 -1
4 1 -1 -1
5 1 1 -1
6 1 -1 1
7 -1 1 1
8 1 1 1
-32-

The aspen strand material property levels were selected based on published ranges (USDA,
Forest Products Laboratory 1999), recommendations made by representatives from DEM
Solutions, laboratory results, and preliminary modeling results (Tables 11 and 12). For the
blender liner and flights, which are constructed of UHMW and HDPE respectively, the
material properties were provided by Coil Manufacturing and are listed in Appendix B. To
facilitate the model setup, the averages of these values were used for both components and
this set of values will be referred to as simply polyethylene (PE) for the duration of this
report (Table 13). Because the material properties differ by less than 20% and they are not
the focus of this study it was felt that this was a reasonable simplification to the model.

As a means of further streamlining this portion of the study, the linear interaction factors,
which include wood to wood and wood to PE material contacts, were tested using the same
value for both material contacts. This was largely done to allow for a clearer understanding
of the results.

Table 11. Factor levels for Quaking Aspen material properties.
Material properties (Quaking Aspen) Low level High level
Modulus of rigidity (G) 1 x 10
8
Pa 1 x 10
9
Pa
Poissons ratio () 0.038 0.453
Density () 123.3 kg/m
3
(7.7 pcf)
379.6 kg/m
3
(23.7 pcf)

Table 12. Factor levels for interaction properties.
Interaction properties Low level High level
Coefficient of restitution
(wood-wood & wood-PE)
0.01 0.10
Coefficient of rolling friction
0.01 1.00
Coefficient of static friction
0.24 0.64

All operating and blender design factors, aside from the six specified, were fixed for the
duration of this project. This included the blender rotation speed, the number of and the
shape of the flights, the blender diameter, and the flight and liner material properties. These
fixed values were selected based on industry standards and limitations of the laboratory
blender (Table 14).

-33-

Table 13. Fixed factor levels for the liner and flights.
Material properties
(liner and flights)
Value
Modulus of rigidity (G) 3.39 x 10
8
Pa
Poissons ratio () 0.42
Density () 935 kg/m
3

Table 14. Fixed factor levels for the blender operation and design.
Fixed blending factors Value
Blender diameter 6.04 ft (1.840 m)
Blender length 1 ft (304.8 mm)
Drum rotation speed 25.5 rpm
Number of flights 8
Flight height 4 in. (101.6 mm)
Flight shape L-shaped
Fill level 1/8
th

In addition, the strands were represented using sticks of the following dimensions: length =
6 inches, width = 1 inch, and thickness = 1 inch (Figure 15). Simplification of the strand
dimensions was necessary because of computing and software limitations. If the actual
strand dimensions were used then the maximum sized sphere possible would be 0.030 inches,
or equivalent to the strand thickness. Consequently, more than 6500 spheres would be
required to represent each 6 inch long by 1 inch wide strand. Because the software is limited
to approximately 100 000 to 200 000 spheres, using 0.030 inch spheres would significantly
reduce that amount of strands that could be simulated. The key assumption is that the motion
of actual wood strands in a blender does not differ significantly from the sticks.

The simulator settings have been included below in Table 15. For each simulation the first 2
revolutions (approximately 6 seconds) were discarded. Visual interpretation of the bulk
strand flow revealed that the strands behaved erratically during this time, and this period was
not representative of the actual blending dynamics.

Table 15. Simulation settings.
Fixed simulator settings Value
Time step 40% of T
R

Write-out every frequency 0.01 sec
Simulation time

24 sec (8 revs)

-34-
Further, the sticks were generated inside the drum throughout the first revolution. Gradually
creating the sticks during a complete revolution facilitated the dispersion of sticks around the
drum and resembled the feeding of strands into an industrial blender.

4.2.2 Strand representation in EDEM
The wood strands were represented using a series of six, 1 inch diameter spheres. The
spheres were rigidly connected at their points of contact (Figure 15). Within EDEM, the six
spheres are treated as an individual body with measures, such as its location, being related to
its center of mass. In most cases a 6 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch stick template was placed over
each of the sphere groupings. This helped to distinguish between the sticks. It is important
to recognize that the template is not the interaction surface of the particles; it is merely
applied during post-processing to aid in identifying the individual strands. As a result, the
sticks can overlap at their edges when the maximum diameter of a sphere protrudes into the
valley between adjacent spheres. The stick template is best thought of as a virtual surface.

Figure 15. Schematic showing the representation of sticks using a series of six spheres (left)
and a schematic showing the placement of a template over top of the six spheres to aid in the
visual analysis process (right).

4.2.3 Characterization of resination potential
A subgroup of 150 strands of the 1 027 in the blender were tracked as they passed through the
resination region (Figure 16). The resination region is based on an atomizer spray pattern
provided by Coil Manufacturing Ltd (Appendix C) and includes an 11-inch tall region
located at the center of the drum. The width of the resination region is 1840 mm and it
covers the entire drum length. While in this region within an industrial blender equipped
with atomizers, strands have the best opportunity to make contact with resin directly leaving
the atomizers. Ideally, all of the strands in the system would have been tracked; however,
-35-
because of computing, software, and time constraints, tracking all 1 027 strands was not
practical.

Figure 16. Blender schematic showing the resination region outlined in blue.

Three parameters were recorded for each strand while in the resination region: simulation
time, x-location (across the diameter of the blender), and vertical velocity. The vertical
velocity was used solely for determining which strands were being lifted by the flights and
which strands were in free-fall. These parameters were recorded at a set time-interval of
every 0.01 seconds. This interval ensured that at least 91% of the time a strand was within
the region it was recorded. The complete details of this analysis are given in Appendix D.
These data were then used for computing a set of response variables.

Three response variables were selected for characterizing the strand flow through the
resination region: skewness, kurtosis, and count. All three of these measures were applied to
the x-location data. In this analysis the skewness (Equation 8 and Figure 17) and kurtosis
(Equation 9) characterize the distribution of the strands across the diameter of the drum as
they descend. Skewness is an indicator of the central tendency of the strand distribution and
kurtosis is an indicator of the uniformity of the strand distribution. Ideally, the strands
should be dispersed evenly, or uniformly across the diameter in order to maximize the
opportunity for an even resin distribution (Figure 17). A uniform distribution is described by
a skewness of 0.0 and a kurtosis of -1.2 (Snedecor and Cochran 1980).
Resination region
z
x
y
-36-

( )( )

=
3
2 1 s
x x
n n
n
skewness
i
[8]

( )
( )( )( )
( )
( )( ) 3 2
1 3
3 2 1
1
2
4

+
=

n n
n
s
x x
n n n
n n
kurtosis
i
[9]

where:
n is the sample size,
x
i
is the value of the i
th
sample,
x is the average x value, and
s is the sample standard deviation.

-37-

Skewness = -0.3983

Skewness = -0.3024

Skewness = -0.0451

Figure 17. Simulation and photographed examples of increasing skewness caused by
increasing rotational speeds from 15.5 RPM to 25.5 RPM. Note that the skewness results are
based on entire simulation, not the individual still image. The illustrated blenders have 8-4"
flights and are 1/8
th
full.

15.5 RPM
25.5 RPM
20.5 RPM
-38-
The count is an indicator of the average total time the strands, or sticks, spent in the
resination region. When any of the 150 strands were within the resination region a
timestamp was recorded every 0.01 seconds for each strand. These timestamps were then
accumulated to determine the total time that the overall subset of strands was within the
resination region. The count is significant because it measures the opportunity the wood
strands have to come into contact with the resin, and therefore should be maximized.

In addition to determining the total time spent in the resination region, a histogram of the
count data was also generated to visually interpret the x-position results. The histogram
consisted of 32 intervals, or bins, where each bin was 57.5 mm wide (Figure 18).
Cumulatively, the bins form the width of the resination region, 1840 mm. In order to post-
process the data files produced by the RDBM, a macro was written in VBA to parse out the
needed data and compute the required statistics. A listing of the VBA code for the macro,
called Histogram_And_Commulative_Graph, is given in Appendix E.

Figure 18. Sample histogram with a respective skewness, kurtosis, and count of -0.3024, -
0.2794, and 22 453.

0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
Bin
C
o
u
n
t

1 27 29 31 21 23 25 15 17 19 9 11 13 5 7 3
-39-
4.3 Validation process selection of appropriate input parameters
Validation of the discrete element model was completed using three techniques. These
techniques were performed in the order listed below. The first technique acted as a screening
test because of its relative speed and simplicity in performing. The second and third
techniques were only performed if the previous test was successful.

The first technique is a visual comparison between a one minute video recording of the lab
blender and an animation created from the simulation results. Validation by means of a
visual comparison has been the most common approach taken for discrete element modeling
because of its inherent simplicity (Rajamani et al. 2000; Yang et al. 2006). While these
previous papers used still images for comparison, a video recording was used in this study
because it resulted in a better understanding of the bulk strand dynamics; in particular strand
surging, a common phenomenon in rotary drum blending. It is important to recognize that
one of the shortcomings of this approach is that it is a purely qualitative measure and is
therefore subjective.

In order to observe and record the strand dynamics in a rotary drum blender, a custom built, 6
foot diameter by 3 foot deep Coil laboratory-scale blender was used. This blender is unique
in that it is outfitted with a tempered glass front that enables the motion of the strands inside
the blender to be easily observed, photographed, or videotaped.

The bulk dynamics of the strands was recorded using a Sony Handycam, model DCR-
DVD108, mounted on a tripod in line with the axis of rotation of the drum and 156 inches
back from the front of the glass blender face. The blender was illuminated with two pairs of
tripod mounted, 500 watt halogen lights positioned to minimize dark regions inside the
blender drum and to avoid reflections (Figures 19 and 20). Black tarpaulins were draped
behind and around the video camera to reduce any reflections on the tempered glass front.

Five minutes of strand tumbling was recorded for 16 different combinations of fill level and
drum speed (Table 16). This video footage was transferred from the video camera to the
computer using Picture Motion Browser Disc Importer Version 1.1.01.01170. Once
downloaded, a 1 minute interval beginning at the 3 minute mark was extracted and saved to
be used for the validation process. This time interval was selected because visually it
appeared that steady state had been reached in the blender.
-40-

Figure 19. Schematic showing the placement of the lights and camera/video camera relative
to the laboratory blender, with the axis indicated in blue.

Figure 20. Photograph showing the placement of the lights and camera/video camera relative
to the laboratory blender.

Still camera /
video camera
Halogen
lights
6 Laboratory
Blender
y
x
z
Halogen
lights
156"
51"
67"
67"
51
72"
-41-
Table 16. Blender rotational speed and fill level combinations for laboratory video
recordings.
Fill level (%) Drum speed (RPM)
1/64
th
15.5 20.5 25.5 30.5
1/32
nd
15.5 20.5 25.5 30.5
1/16
th
15.5 20.5 25.5 30.5
1/8
th
15.5 20.5 25.5 30.5

The simulated strand flow footage from the RDBM was converted into GIF animations. The
GIF was created by first exporting still images every 0.1 seconds from EDEM under the
Analyst tab. A detailed description on how to perform this task is presented in the EDEM
1.3 User Guide (DEM Solutions 2008). The still images were then strung together as frames
using the Animation Wizard in Jasc Animation Shop 3 and saved as a GIF. The RDBM GIF
and the video footage of the blender drum were put side by side in a Microsoft PowerPoint
slide and their strand flows compared by visual inspection (Figure 21). At this stage of the
validation, the objective was to determine whether or not the strand flows appear to be
similar based on the strands approximate point of detachment from the drum and their
ultimate point of collision. In addition, the patterns of strand detachment should have been
similar. Subsequent validation stages compared the simulated and laboratory results more
thoroughly using quantitative techniques.

Figure 21. Example of (left) a screen shot taken of an animated GIF illustrating the
simulation results and (right) a screen shot taken of the video footage taken in the laboratory.

The second technique, and less often employed, compares the shoulder and toe angles from a
series of still images taken of the laboratory blender with the graphical simulated results. As
Cleary (2003) stated, the shoulder and toe locations are the primary quantitative information
available from [an experiment] for comparison with the DEM results. The principle
-42-
advantage of this approach over the visual comparison is the fact that this is a quantitative
measure, and as a result, reduces the degree of subjectivity and bias. The definition of the
shoulder and toe angle and the measurement approach is described in detail by Cleary
(2003), and therefore, is only briefly summarized here.

The shoulder angle is the maximum vertical height reached by the bulk of the strands after
detaching from the drum liner. Conversely, the toe angle is the impact point of the bulk of
the strands that move through the shoulder and land on the drum (Figure 22). The term
bulk is used here to differentiate between the mass flow of the majority of strands and the
sporadic flow of individual, rogue strands. Because this research is focused on the overall
bulk strand dynamics, the movement of individual strands is of little interest.

Figure 22. Schematic showing the shoulder, , and toe, , angles for two points of
detachment. The 0
o
and 90
o
reference angles are shown in blue.

The strand volume and drum rotational speed have a significant effect on the ability to
accurately determine the shoulder and toe angles through visual inspection. For instance,
with volumes less than 1/8
th
full and with speeds greater than 25.5 RPM it is very difficult to
locate the shoulder and toe angles and to identify them both on the same image. As a result,
-1.0
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
-1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
x-position (m)
y
-
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

(
m
)
(a)
drum
liner
direction
of rotation
0
o

90
o

A
Shoulder
Toe
-43-
for this analysis only three speeds were chosen: 15.5 RPM, 20.5 RPM, and 25.5 RPM. All of
the experiments were conducted at a 1/8
th
fill level.

The still images were taken using a tripod mounted, Nikon Coolpix S3 digital camera. The
lighting and camera to blender configuration was the same as for the previous analysis
(Figure 19). With the blender running at steady state, forty to fifty pictures were taken in the
standard camera mode over approximately two minutes. As described by Cleary (2003), by
leaving the shutter open for a prolonged period a streaking effect is obtained, making it easier
to identify the relevant angles (Figure 23). However, because this particular camera model
does not allow for the shutter speed to be set directly, leaving the camera in the default
standard mode, instead of using a high speed or sports mode, it was possible to achieve the
desired outcome. In this case the shutter speed, as recorded in the image file, varied between
1/10
th
and 1/11
th
of a second.

The shoulder and toe location were then determined for each image. The first 30 images that
clearly showed both the shoulder and toe location were selected for analysis. As one can
imagine from viewing the still image of the blender in Figure 23, determining the precise
location of these locations is not without some error. Because of this, 30 images were
included in the analysis to reduce the significance of any erroneous measurements. In
measuring the shoulder and toe locations, the angles were measured to the nearest degree.

-44-

Figure 23. Illustration showing the identification of the shoulder and toe angle from the
laboratory video footage.

A similar approach was taken with the graphical simulation to facilitate the location of the
shoulder and toe angles. Instead of representing the strands using the stick template,
EDEMs streaming effect was used (DEM Solutions 2008). The streaming effect draws a
straight line between the respective strands last positions. For this analysis the software was
set to connect the last two positions (Figure 24). As with the visual validation, still images
were exported every 0.1 seconds from EDEM. The first two blender revolutions were not
included because steady state had not been reached. 35 random images were then selected
and the shoulder and toe angles determined. Again, the first 30 images that clearly showed
the shoulder and toe location in the same picture were selected for analysis.

Shoulder
Toe

-45-

Figure 24. Illustration showing the identification of the shoulder () and toe () angle from
the simulation results using the streaming effect.

Once the shoulder and toe angles were compiled from the pictures and simulation results they
were compared using a student t-test to determine if the mean shoulder and toe values were
similar.

The third technique relied on grayscale, or light intensity measures to determine the presence
of wood strands in the laboratory drum. This is a relatively new technique and has only been
found once in the literature as a model validation tool (Nakamura et al. 2007). This method
is based on the premise that the back of the blender drum is black, or low intensity and
grayscale values, and that the strands are relatively light, or higher intensity and grayscale
values. As a result, as the strands travel through the line of sight in front of the drum back
they are recorded as relatively high intensity regions. This approach removes nearly all
subjectivity, which is its primary advantage over the previous two methods. However, there
are several inherent challenges associated with its use. First, although it is simple to
determine the presence of at least one strand in any y-z plane (Figure 25) it is unable to
determine the degree of strand saturation. For instance, it is unable to decipher between a

-46-
single strand blocking the sight of the blender back or multiple strands blocking the sight of
the blender back. In addition, this technique is unable to account for parallax, and because
the drum is 3 feet deep this can be significant at the outer edges of the drum.

Figure 25. Schematic of the x, y, z coordinate system relative to the blender.

The laboratory images used for this analysis were extracted from the one minute video clip
used for the visual validation. The video was converted from an MPG format to an AVI
format using Cyberlink PowerDirector v6 (Anonymous 2007). The AVI version was then
imported into Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and exported as individual still images (Adobe
Systems Incorporated 2007). This step was completed with the Export Frame Settings shown
in Table 17.

Table 17. Frame export settings used in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3.
General:
File Type TIFF
Video:
Frame Size 640 x 480
Frame Rate 29.97
Pixel Aspect Ratio 1.0
Keyframe and Rendering:
Deinterlace video footage select
Note: with the exception of the above listed
settings, all other parameters were left at their
respective default settings.

x
z
y
-47-
Using Image Pro Plus v6 (IPP), the still images were converted into 8-bit grayscale images.
With 8-bit grayscale, 0 corresponds to black and 255 corresponds white. The intensity, or
grayscale value, was determined for each column of pixels across the width of the resination
region. This is done using the Line Profile command in IPP, selecting Thick Horz under the
report options, and then positioning the boundaries of the resination region (Figure 26). This
was performed for every third image of the 1 800 that were extracted. The average grayscale
value and associated variance was determined for each column of pixels. A macro was
written in VBA to perform this operation and is listed in Appendix F.
-48-

Figure 26. Screen shot taken in Image Pro Plus v6 showing the placement of the thick, line
profile and the cooresponding grayscale values. The indicated grayscale values are an
average of each column of pixels across the width of the resination region.

The histogram data from the RDBM simulations were then overlaid on top of the light
intensity data to determine the degree of similarity (Figure 27). To facilitate the direct
comparison of the RDBM histograms with the light intensity data, the light intensity data was
grouped and averaged according to the same 51 mm bin size as the histograms. A critical
assumption in this analysis is that the light intensity values are directly related to the count
values from the simulation results.
Resination
region
-49-

Figure 27. Example of simulation results overlaid on top of grayscale results. The bin ids
are shown on the x-axis.

4.4 Results
4.4.1 Screening design material properties
After completing the full factorial simulation design the respective factor levels and response
variables were compiled (Table 18) to be analyzed in SAS version 9.1 using an analysis of
variance (ANOVA). In addition to the three response variables previously mentioned:
skewness, kurtosis, and count; the required processing time was also included. The
processing time was included because one of the objectives of this initial study was to
determine a suitable combination of material properties that would minimize the required
processing time without compromising the quality of the simulation results. Therefore, the
results for the processing time will only be used for determining, if appropriate, where
assumptions could be made to reduce the time required to run subsequent simulations.

20.5 RPM - 1/32
nd
Full
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
Bin
C
o
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n
t

(
S
i
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a
t
i
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)

60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
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r
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(
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1 27 29 31 21 23 25 15 17 19 9 11 13 5 7 3
Simulation Imaging
-50-
material properties.
Factors Response variables
Run Shear
modulus (psi)
Poissons
ratio
Density
(kg/m
3
)
Skewness Kurtosis Count
Proc. Time
(hrs)
1 1 x 10
8
0.038 62.208 -0.0744 -1.0043 14267 11.10
2 1 x 10
8
0.038 380.000 -0.1921 -1.1023 15027 4.73
3 1 x 10
8
0.453 62.208 -0.1704 -1.0837 15063 11.70
4 1 x 10
9
0.038 62.208 -0.0544 -1.0776 14305 34.30
5 1 x 10
9
0.453 62.208 -0.2613 -1.1146 15352 37.00
6 1 x 10
9
0.038 380.000 -0.2429 -1.0365 15160 14.20
7 1 x 10
8
0.453 380.000 -0.1068 -1.0940 14902 5.03
8 1 x 10
9
0.453 380.000 -0.1537 -1.0274 14772 15.10

The ANOVA results showed that none of the material properties: shear modulus, Poissons
ratio, or density; had a significant impact on the skewness, kurtosis, or count at a 95%
confidence level ( = 0.05) (Appendix G). This is demonstrated by the p-values consistently
being greater than 0.05. As expected from Equation 7, the processing time was significantly
affected by the material properties, specifically by the shear modulus and density.

4.4.2 Screening design interaction properties
The results from the simulations investigating the impact of the interaction properties were
also analyzed using an ANOVA in SAS version 9.1 (Table 19).

interaction properties.
Factors Response variables
Run Coef. of
restitution
Coef. of
rolling friction
Coef. of
static friction
Skewness Kurtosis Count
Proc. Time
(hrs)
1 0.01 0.01 0.24 -0.5587 -0.8274 16863 5.24
2 0.01 0.01 0.64 -0.2302 -1.0118 15260 4.79
3 0.01 1.00 0.24 0.3976 -0.8940 13569 5.18
4 0.10 0.01 0.24 -0.4195 -0.9959 15671 5.18
5 0.10 1.00 0.24 0.4187 -0.7253 13429 5.25
6 0.10 0.01 0.64 -0.1145 -0.9241 14487 4.72
7 0.01 1.00 0.64 1.2969 0.9665 12855 4.4
8 0.10 1.00 0.64 1.2521 0.8854 12749 4.35

The ANOVA results (Appendix H) showed that the coefficient of rolling friction and the
coefficient of static friction had a significant effect on the skewness of the data at a 95%
confidence level, while only the coefficient of rolling friction had a significant effect on the
count. None of the factors significantly impacted the kurtosis. Based on these results, it was
necessary to complete additional simulations and research to determine appropriate
coefficients of rolling and static friction.
-51-
4.4.3 Coefficient of rolling friction
An appropriate coefficient of rolling friction value for this project was determined by
completing a series of simulations at both the upper and lower static friction coefficient
values measured in the laboratory for seven different values of rolling friction (Table 20 and
Figure 28). This provided insight into the affect of rolling friction on the bulk dynamics of
the strands. Common sense suggested that because strands do not roll, but instead slide
along the liner, flights, or adjacent strands in an actual rotary drum blender, the coefficient of
rolling friction should be set as high as possible to prevent the strands from rolling.
However, the impact of the rolling friction on the strand dynamics was not completely
known and therefore these simulations were necessary. For these studies the coefficient of
static friction was set independently for wood to wood and wood to PE (Table 20).

Table 20. Rolling and static friction coefficients for the simulations aimed at determining a
suitable coefficient of rolling friction.
Static friction
Run
Wood to Wood Wood to PE
Rolling friction
x-position
skewness
1 0.66 0.3 0.010 -0.22873
2 0.66 0.3 0.175 1.18975
3 0.66 0.3 0.340 1.49009
4 0.66 0.3 0.505 1.06571
5 0.66 0.3 0.670 0.71122
6 0.66 0.3 0.835 0.51079
7 0.66 0.3 1.000 0.59923
8 0.54 0.26 0.010 0.03421
9 0.54 0.26 0.175 1.22647
10 0.54 0.26 0.340 1.31727
11 0.54 0.26 0.505 0.83199
12 0.54 0.26 0.670 0.57810
13 0.54 0.26 0.835 0.53392
14 0.54 0.26 1.000 0.51188

-52-

Figure 28. Skewness as a function of the coefficient of rolling friction (CRF).

In both cases the simulation results showed that the rate of change of skewness with rolling
friction is smallest above 0.7. It would therefore be ideal to operate in this range. However,
in order for the simulation to remain stable the rolling friction coefficient should not be more
than 0.7 (Cook 2008). Thus for the purposes of this research a value of 0.67 was used to
ensure model stability. A disadvantage of this approach is that it removes some of the
control we have over the bulk dynamics of the strands, only leaving the coefficient of static
friction for controlling the simulated strand flow.

4.4.4 Validation - coefficient of static friction
Once a suitable coefficient of rolling friction was determined, attention was focused on the
coefficient of static friction. As previously indicated, the static friction coefficients used in
the model may not be necessarily the same as those values found in the laboratory
experiments. This is largely because of assumptions that were made in the model. For
instance, the bulk flow of strands in an actual blender is much more complicated than
individual specimen tests. There are many factors that impact specimen interactions, such as
air flow or the presence of fine particles acting as lubricant on the material surfaces. As a
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
CRF
S
k
e
w
n
e
s
s
wood/wood
= 0.66
wood/PE
= 0.30

wood/wood
= 0.54
wood/PE
= 0.26

-53-
result, a series of simulations were carried out in a systematic manner to narrow in on a pair
of static friction coefficients that best produces realistic strand flow. The validation
techniques outlined in the Methodology section were used to understand whether or not the
simulation results were improving with each successive simulation.

Six static friction levels were required to narrow in on a suitable combination of values
(Table 21). Runs 1 and 2 used the upper and lower laboratory determined values. Neither of
these runs agreed using visual validation. The strands were lifted too high up on the drum
wall before detaching and impacted the drum at too small an angle on their decent.

Table 21. Pairs of static friction coefficients used to identify a suitable set of values.
Static coefficient of friction Run
Wood to wood Wood to HDPE
1 0.66 0.30
2 0.54 0.26
3 0.02 0.01
4 0.14 0.07
5 0.10 0.05
6 0.12 0.06

Runs 3 to 6 used values that were considerably less than the laboratory determined
coefficients, however were necessary to correct for the disparity between runs 1 and 2 and
the video footage taken in the laboratory. Throughout these runs a ratio of approximately 2:1
was maintained between the wood to wood and the wood to PE coefficient values. This ratio
was found to be reasonably accurate from the laboratory results in Section 3.4.

Run 3 was an extreme case. This simulation tested the lowest levels possible while
maintaining a 2:1 ratio. The visual results of this run showed that the point of detachment
and collision were both too low on the drum, indicating that the optimal static friction
coefficients were between the levels used in runs 2 and 3.

The visual results of run 4 were promising. The point of detachment and collision both
appeared to be similar to the laboratory video footage; as a result, validation using the
shoulder and toe angle measurements was also completed (Table 22). The results of the
student t-test suggested that there was not a significant difference between the shoulder angle
-54-
in the simulated and laboratory results assuming a 95% confidence level. The toe angles
were however significantly different, with the simulated toe angle being lower.

and toe angles in Run 4 and the laboratory results.
Shoulder angle Toe angle
Simulation Laboratory Simulation Laboratory
Mean 55.8 53.9 247.7 256.2
Variance 38.90 20.53 44.42 29.98
Observations 30 30 30 30
Hypothesized mean dif. 0 0
Degrees of freedom 53 56
t-statistic 1.397 -5.419
P(T t) two-tail 0.168 1.313 E-6
t-critical two-tail 2.006 2.003

Runs 5 and 6 were completed to determine if the results of run 4 could be improved upon.
Again, visually both of these runs were promising, warranting validation by means of the
shoulder and toe angles (Tables 23 and 24). With run 5 the toe angle was closer to the
laboratory results; however, the simulation shoulder was again lower. In run 6, the shoulder
and toe angles were both significantly lower than the laboratory results.

Mean 45.2 53.9 255.6 256.2
Variance 20.39 20.53 34.79 29.98
t-statistic -7.392 -.408
P(T t) two-tail 6.438 E-10 0.685

-55-
Mean 47.7 53.9 251.4 256.2
Variance 44.98 20.53 53.90 29.98
t-statistic -4.173 -2.911
P(T t) two-tail 0.001 0.005

A summary of the shoulder and toe angle results from runs 4 to 6 and the results from the
images taken of the laboratory blender is shown in Table 25. The italicized values indicate
those angles that are significantly different from the laboratory results at the 95% confidence
level ( = 0.05). These results show a decline in the shoulder angle with a decreasing
coefficient of static friction. At the same time, the toe angle steadily increased with
decreasing friction values.

Table 25. Summary of runs 4 to 6 and the laboratory taken shoulder and toe angle results.
Italicized values indicate those angles that are significantly different ( = 0.05) from the
image results.
Shoulder Toe
Lab images 53.9 256.2
Coefficient of static friction
1
:
Run 4 (0.14/0.07) 55.8 247.7
Run 5 (0.10/0.05) 45.2 255.6
Run 6 (0.12/0.06) 47.7 251.4
1
The values are shown as the wood to wood and the wood to PE
coefficient of static friction respectively.

Of these three runs, it was determined that run 4 resulted in simulation results that most
closely resembled the laboratory results. This decision was based on the close resemblance
of the shoulder angles obtained in run 4 and the laboratory images. Although the toe angle
was significantly different from the laboratory results, it was ultimately decided that an
accurate shoulder angle was more important than an accurate toe angle. If the shoulder angle
was incorrect it would more negatively impact subsequent simulations that included an
atomizer boom in the middle of the blender, the which the strands would ultimately interact.

The results of runs 4 to 6 were expected based on previous work by Smith and Davis (Davis
1919; Smith and Gutiu 2002). As the coefficient of friction increases so does the angle of
-56-
detachment from the drum wall. In the simplest case, with a flight of zero height, this angle
is predicted by (Smith and Gutiu 2002):

2
2 2
2
1
4
arcsin
1
1
arcsin
s s
g
rn
+
=

[10]

where:
is the detachment angle relative to the vertical axis,
s
is the static friction coefficient,
r is the radius of the drum, and
n is the rotational speed.

To further verify these results, run 4 was re-run at 15.5 RPM and 25.5 RPM. Using a higher
and lower speed was expected to show a clear movement in the shoulder and toe angles. The
results of these additional simulations showed that the shoulder and toe angles had a clear
dependency on the rotational speed. A summary of the results for run 4 at the various speeds
is shown below (Table 26). The detailed t-test results for 15.5 and 25.5 RPM are shown in
Appendix I.

Table 26. Summary of shoulder and toe angles obtained at 15.5 to 25.5 RPM with the
coefficients of static friction set at 0.14 and 0.07. Italicized values indicate those angles that
are significantly different ( = 0.05) from the image results.
Shoulder angle Toe Angle
RPM
15.5 40.4 38.9 258.0 259.0
20.5 55.8 53.9 247.7 256.2
25.5 67.0 63.1 217.9 227.4

Although both the simulated shoulder and toe angle were significantly different from the
laboratory results at 25.5 RPM, the values were close enough to be satisfied with using 0.14
and 0.07 as the coefficient of static friction for wood to wood and wood to PE respectively.

As a final confirmation, the third validation technique relying on light intensity was also
completed for 0.14 and 0.07 static friction values. This validation was completed for a
blender fill level of 1/8
th
at speeds of 15.5 RPM, 20.5 RPM, and 25.5 RPM. Before
completing this analysis a baseline test was completed to determine the light intensity of the
blender without the presence of strands.

-57-
For the baseline test the light intensity was measured across the resination region with the
blender empty (Figure 29). The adjusted average grayscale value was then calculated and
subtracted from subsequent analyses. Because of the occurrence of parallax the region of
interest was narrowed to avoid inclusion of the drum liner for this validation technique. The
drum liner is nearly white and would have caused the results to be false near the left- and
right-hand extents of the resination region. The thatched regions, or first and last 4 bins, in
the following graphs were not included in the analysis.

The average grayscale value for the region between the two cut-off points was found to be
66.2.

0
50
100
150
200
250
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
Bin
G
r
a
y
-
s
c
a
l
e
Cut-off Cut-off
Average =66.2

Figure 29. Baseline grayscale results for the laboratory blender running empty. The cut-off
points are indicated by the solid, vertical red lines. The drum liner is contained in the
thatched region. Note that the width of each bin is 57.5 mm.

The light intensity analyses showed close correspondence with the simulation results
(Figures 30 to 32). In particular, the initial points of inclination (middle to left side of
graphs) and the peaks appear to be reasonably aligned. This is especially true at 20.5 RPM
and 25.5 RPM. At 15.5 RPM the laboratory data are skewed slightly further to the right, or
negatively skewed. This disparity is difficult to interpret however. Because the peak of the
-58-
laboratory data are contained within the cut-off region it is likely impacted by the lightness of
the drum liner and therefore the precise location of the peak is not known.

Although the graphs of the simulation results appear to resemble the laboratory images for
the entire region between the cut-off points, the region to the right of the graphs peak is less
capable of accounting for changes in strand volume. This is because at a 1/8
th
fill level the
drum tends to become saturated with strands fluttering beneath the cascading stream of
strands. This blocks the view of the drum back, inhibiting the Image Pro Plus software from
observing differences in the grayscale level. The simulation and laboratory results contained
here are for a blender running counter-clockwise; and therefore, the this region is to the right
of the peak in these graphs.

0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
Bin
C
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(
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)
66.0
86.0
106.0
126.0
146.0
166.0
186.0
206.0
G
r
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-
s
c
a
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e

(
L
a
b
o
r
a
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)
Laboratory results
Simulation results

th
full.

-59-
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
Bin
C
o
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t

(
S
i
m
u
l
a
t
i
o
n
)
66.0
86.0
106.0
126.0
146.0
166.0
186.0
G
r
a
y
-
s
c
a
l
e

(
L
a
b
o
r
a
t
o
r
y
)
Laboratory results
Simulation results

th
full.

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
Bin
C
o
u
n
t

(
S
i
m
u
l
a
t
i
o
n
)
66.0
76.0
86.0
96.0
106.0
116.0
126.0
136.0
146.0
156.0
166.0
G
r
a
y
-
s
c
a
l
e

(
L
a
b
o
r
a
t
o
r
y
)
Laboratory results
Simulation results

th
full.

Based on the validation results the coefficients of static friction were similarly determined to
be 0.14 and 0.07 for wood to wood and wood to PE respectively. Using this combination of
-60-
coefficients produced simulation results that closely mimicked those obtained in the
laboratory blender.

The final coefficient of static friction values for use in EDEM are considerably lower than
the 0.66 and 0.30 values obtained through the bench-top laboratory experiments. Much of
this difference is likely a result of the choice in strand representation. Because the sticks are
composed of a series of spheres the contact surfaces between sticks have ridges that the
adjacent surfaces must slide over. This results in mechanical interlocking between the sticks.
Reducing the friction coefficient acts as a lubricant for the surfaces, allowing them to more
easily slide along each other or separate if necessary.

A second explanation for this disparity is the lack of fine particles in the model. In an actual
rotary drum blender, including the one used for validating this model, fine particles are
generated within the process. These fine particles coat the surfaces of the strands, flights,
and drum liner and ultimately behave similar to very small ball bearings and effectively
reduce the friction between surfaces.

4.5 Conclusions
The selection of suitable material and interaction parameters has been shown to be critical to
the successful implementation of a discrete element model for two principal reasons. First,
the accuracy of the simulation results is largely determined by the input parameters. The
adage garbage in, garbage out has been shown to be particularly relevant here (Hirsch et al.
2002). The findings of this study show that many of the parameters listed in Table 8 have no
significant impact on the bulk dynamics of wood strands in the RDBM. The only parameters
that did have a significant impact were the coefficients of rolling friction and static friction.

Second, the combination of parameters may significantly impact the processing time required
for an individual run. During this project, processing times for a 24 second simulation
ranged from as low as 4.7 hours to as high as 34.3 hours. Accuracy of the simulation results
being equal, shorter processing times are preferred. Shorter processing times are achieved by
using relatively high material densities or low shear moduli.

-61-
Based on the findings of these simulations and analyses the complete set of material and
interaction properties for this particular project is shown below in Table 27. By using these
input parameters the RDBM accurately, and processor efficiently, predicts the bulk dynamics
of wood strands in a 6 foot rotary drum blender.

Table 27. Summary of material and interaction properties for use with EDEM.
Material Properties
Shear modulus 1x10
8
psi
Poissons ratio 0.453
Density 380 kg/m
3

Interaction Properties
Coefficient of rolling friction 0.67
Coefficient of static friction:
Wood on wood 0.14
Wood on HDPE 0.07
Coefficient of restitution 0.01

-62-
CHAPTER 5

MEASURING THE EFFECT OF ROTARY DRUM BLENDER DESIGN AND
OPERATING PARAMETERS ON THE BULK STRAND FLOW USING A
RESPONSE SURFACE DESIGN

5.1 Introduction
Until this point the research project was largely focused on calibrating the RDBM with
laboratory results. This was necessary before exploratory studies could be completed using
the model. This next portion of the research therefore relies on these calibration results for
conducting an exploratory study aimed at understanding the design and operation of rotary
drum blenders.

This work utilizes the quantification techniques used in Chapter 4, together with a response
surface design, to determine the relationship between four operating and blender design
parameters and the distribution of strands across the blender diameter as well as the average
time a strand spends in the resination region. The four factors of interest are specific to the
Coil Manufacturing, long-retention blenders, and include: the flight height, number of flights,
blender fill level, and blender rotational speed. This is not an exhaustive list of factors;
however, they are the few parameters that do not require fundamental or significant changes
to the current blending process. It is hypothesized that there are ideal combinations of
blender design and operating parameters that results in the optimal blending environment.

Objective:
1. To understand the impact of blender design and operating parameters on the strand
distribution across the drum diameter and the average time a strand spends in the
resination region.

5.2 Methodology
A response surface design was selected for determining the impact several of the rotary drum
blender design and operating parameters have on the distribution of strands across the drum
diameter, as described by the skewness and kurtosis, as well as the average time a strand
spends in the resination region. Response surface methodology (RSM) was followed
-63-
because it provides an efficient means of determining the relationship between several factors
and response variables. For this reason, RSM has been used extensively for product and
process optimization (Myers and Montgomery 2002).

A modified four factor, Box-Behnken response surface design was followed for these
simulations (Tables 28 and 29). How this design differs from a traditional Box-Behnken
design is that the number of flights and fill level increase geometrically. Consequently, the
median value, or factor level, is not equal to the mean value, as is the case with traditional
Box-Behnken designs (SAS Institute Inc.). The design scheme was altered in response to
limitations with the design of the laboratory blender. In particular, additional flights could
only be positioned at set locations. The laboratory blender was pre-drilled for 16 flights;
therefore, in order to maintain a symmetric flight placement along the blender circumference,
the number of flights was increased from 4 to 8 to 16. Although it was ultimately decided
that the laboratory blender was not required for further validation of the RDBM, at the onset
of this analysis it was desired to maintain that option.
-64-
Table 28. Response surface design matrix.
Run Number of
flights
Flight
height
Fill level Rotational
speed
1 -1 -1 -0.33 0
2 -1 1 -0.33 0
3 1 -1 -0.33 0
4 1 1 -0.33 0
5 -0.33 0 -1 -1
6 -0.33 0 -1 1
7 -0.33 0 1 -1
8 -0.33 0 1 1
9 -1 0 -0.33 -1
10 -1 0 -0.33 1
11 1 0 -0.33 -1
12 1 0 -0.33 1
13 -0.33 -1 -1 0
14 -0.33 -1 1 0
15 -0.33 1 -1 0
16 -0.33 1 1 0
17 -1 0 -1 0
18 -1 0 1 0
19 1 0 -1 0
20 1 0 1 0
21 -0.33 -1 -0.33 -1
22 -0.33 -1 -0.33 1
23 -0.33 1 -0.33 -1
24 -0.33 1 -0.33 1
25 -0.33 0 -0.33 0
26 -0.33 0 -0.33 0
27 -0.33 0 -0.33 0

Table 29. Response surface design factor levels.
Factor Units
Low level
(-1)
Mid level
(0 or -0.33)
High level
(1)
Number of flights - 4 8 16
Flight height inches 2 4 6
Fill level
1
% 6.25 12.50 25.00
Rotational speed rpm 18.71 23.39 28.07
1
Fill level is represented as the fraction of blender volume occupied by strands if
the blender drum was stopped during operation and the strands settled on the
base of the drum.

The factor levels were selected based on discussions with Coil Manufacturing (Coil 2007b;
Coil 2008) and by balancing computational and physical limitations, as previously
mentioned. For instance, the fill level of an industrial blender is typically 25% to 50%. This
level is based on the fraction of the blender volume occupied by strands when the blender is
not rotating and the strands are resting on the bottom of the blender drum under self-weight.
-65-
Because of computing limitations, which include both the speed in which the software can
solve a simulation and the speed in which the computer can run the software, the maximum
fill level simulated was 25%. The results show distinct trends however, which may be useful
for extrapolating towards the higher fill levels. In addition, the simulated blender diameter
was limited to 1.84 meters (6.04 feet). This corresponds to the laboratory blender and
minimizes the computational requirements. Industrial blenders are as large as 11 feet in
diameter; however, it is anticipated that results from the 6 foot blender will provide valuable
insight into the strand dynamics. Further, it is assumed that many of the effects caused by
the design and operational parameters will be relevant regardless of the blender diameter. As
will be outlined in the Future Work section, it is recommended that future experiments be
conducted that investigate the validity of scaling the model results for an industrial blender.
The selected blender rotational speeds were 60, 75, and 90% of the calculated critical speed
(Smith and Gutiu 2002).

It is important to note that instead of reporting the total number of 0.1 second time steps that
the 150 tracked strands spent in the resination region, as was the case with the sensitivity
study (Chapter 4), the average time an individual strand spent in the resination region was
reported in this study. The reason for this slight change in the reporting format is because of
the varying blender fill levels investigated in this study. Reporting the average time helps
avoid misinterpretation of the results and relates directly to the overall objective, which is to
maximize the time spent in the resination region. Throughout this study, a tracked sample
size of 150 strands was maintained. For all of the simulations, the number of recorded
revolutions was maintained at 10; however, the first 2 revolutions were discarded to allow
the model to reach steady state. Consequently, 8 complete revolutions were included in the
analysis for each simulation.

The response surface design was completed twice, once without an atomizer boom and once
with a single atomizer boom (Figure 33). The location of the boom was selected based on
drawings provided by Coil Manufacturing (Coil 2007b). As an initial investigation of the
dynamics and the role design and operational parameters have on it, most of the attention was
focused on the scenario without an atomizer boom. This would allow for an optimal boom
location to be selected based on the strand flow, while still providing some insight into the
impact the boom will have on the resulting strand flow.
-66-

Figure 33. Schematic of a blender fitted with an atomizer boom, shaded grey. The upward
and downward rotating sides of the blender are also indicated.

All of the simulations were run using EDEM version 1.3.1 and post processed and sorted in
Microsoft Excel using the VBA script listed in Appendix E. The results were subsequently
analyzed using SAS version 9.1s response surface design tools.

Quadratic models were fit in SAS using the ANOVA selection method at a 95% confidence
level ( = 0.05). For the skewness and kurtosis it was necessary to include several of the
insignificant effects to maintain the model hierarchy. These effects are indicated in the
Results and Discussion section.

5.3 Results and discussion
5.3.1 Overall predictive trends
The results of the study using a 6 foot RDBM (Appendix J) show that all three response
variables were significantly affected by at least two of the four factors, either as a main effect
or as an interaction effect. The skewness was impacted most, being affected by all four
factors. Kurtosis was affected by the number of flights and flight height, while the average
time spent in the resination region was affected by the flight height and rotational speed. The
relationships between the response variables and the significant factors are presented in the
following sections.
Atomizer boom
CCW Rotation
Downward rotating side Upward rotating side
-67-

These relationships are shown in the prediction profile graphs that were generated in SAS
(Figures 34, 40, 43, and 44 to 47). The factors are shown on the x-axes and the response
variables on the y-axes. These relationships are unique to the factor levels employed and
may change accordingly if the factor levels were to change. For the graphs included in this
study, factor levels representative of industry norms were used for the skewness and average
time spent in resination region analyses (Table 30) (Coil 2008; Smith 2005).

Table 30. Factor levels used in the skewness and average time spent in resination region
analyses.
Factor Factor level
Number of flights 14
Flight height (inches) 4
Fill level (fraction) 0.25
Rotational speed (rpm) 24.0

The factor levels used for the kurtosis analyses are described in Section 5.3.1.3. The factor
levels are indicated by a vertical line and accompanying x-axis label on the respective
graphs. In order to facilitate comparison of the simulation means, 95% confidence intervals
are included on each of the following graphs.

5.3.1.1 Skewness
All four factors had a significant effect on the skewness (Table 31 and Figure 34). The
skewness increased with an increasing rotational speed and number of flights and a
decreasing fill level. The skewness increased with an increasing flight height from 2 to 4
inches and then began to decrease. The model for predicting the skewness is shown in
Equation 11. This model yields an F-value of 27.1357 (p-value < 0.0001), which is
significant at a 95% confidence level ( = 0.05).

-68-
Table 31. List of effects for the skewness showing (left) the significant effects and (right) the
significant effects as well as those that were included to maintain the model hierarchy.
Factor p-value
Number of flights 0.0093
Flight height 0.0092
Fill level 0.0232
Rotational speed 0.0032
Number of flights x Flight height 0.0121
Flight height x Fill level 0.0051
Rotational speed
2
0.0237
Flight height
2
x Rotational speed 0.0410
Factor p-value
Fill level 0.0232
Flight height
2
0.1106
Flight height x Rotational speed 0.0516
Rotational speed
2
0.0237
Flight height
2
x Rotational speed 0.0410

4
2
2
2
4 4 2 3 2
2
2
2 1 4 3 2 1
0144 . 0 01145 . 0 1409 . 0 4520 . 2 2652 . 0
0282 . 0 7499 . 0 4648 . 6 6325 . 1 2006 . 0 3128 . 5
X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X Sk
+ + +
+ + =
[11]
where:
Sk is the predicted skewness,
X
1
is the number of flights,
X
2
is the flight height in inches,
X
3
is the blender fill level as a fraction of the total blender volume, and
X
4
is the blender rotational speed in rpms.

skewness and the (top-left) number of flights, (top-right) flight height, (bottom-left) fill level,
and (bottom-right) blender rotational speed. The vertical lines and x-axes labels indicate the
factor levels used for the creation of these specific graphs.

fr
-69-
Skewness was shown to increase with an increasing number of flights and decrease with an
increasing blender fill level. Recall that a positive skewness implies that the majority of the
strands passed through the resination region on the downward rotating side of the drum,
while a negative skewness implies that the majority of the strands passed through the
resination region on the upward rotating side of the drum as they descended (Figure 33).
Ideally the strands would be symmetrically distributed, which would be identified by a
skewness of 0.

The impact of flight height and fill level is best described by considering the angle of repose.
Although this measure is most applicable for granular material, it is also relevant for wood
strands. The angle of repose refers to the internal angle formed between a horizontal surface
and a pile of granular material (Figure 35). This angle is largely influenced by the coefficient
of static friction and determines the height and width of the resulting pile for a given volume
of material (Smith 2006).

Figure 35. Schematic showing the angle of repose, , for a pile of wood strands on a
horizontal surface.

With fewer flights the loading per flight was relatively high, causing the strands to pile
higher atop of each flight. This is easily seen for the flight identified by the arrow in Figure
36a. In this case, where there are only 4 flights, the amount of strands that the flight is able
to carry is determined by the angle of repose. As the flight moves along the drum
circumference the angle of the flight relative to the horizontal axis increases. This causes
some of the strands to detach and slough off of the flight because the angle of repose has
been exceeded, as shown in Figure 36b. This is particularly relevant for the strands furthest
away from the flight where the angle is greatest and the strands are less supported. Once the
flight reaches the location shown in Figure 36e the strands begin to slough off of the flight in
a continuous flow. With only 4 flights the strands slough off of the flight while the flight
passed through the entire right half of the blender.

furnish
furnish
furnish
-70-

when a relatively small number of flights are employed. The simulated blender has 4-6 inch
flights and is rotating at 23.39 RPM and is 1/8
th
full. The arrow indicates the position of a
specific flight as the drum rotates.

As the number of flights increased the loading of strands per flight diminished, reducing the
height of the strand pile atop of each flight. This is seen in Figure 37a. As a result, the
distance between the strands nearest to the flight and the strands furthest from the flight has
decreased. In this case, the flights need to travel further along the drum circumference before
the angle of repose is overcome. This is illustrated in the following example where the
strands do not begin detaching until the flight reaches the location shown in Figure 37d.
Consequently, the strand piles sloughed off of their respective flight within a narrow
timeframe. With 16 flights, most of the strands detached as the flight passed through the
upper-right drum quadrant. A smaller loading per flight would be the preferred scenario for
an industrial operation as it results in better control over the moment of detachment from the
flight and the strand trajectory.

(a)
(b) (c) (d)
(h)
(g)
(f) (e)
-71-

when a relatively large number of flights are employed. The simulated blender has 16-6 inch
flights and is rotating at 23.39 RPM and is 1/8
th
full. The arrow indicates the position of a
specific flight as the drum rotates.

As anticipated, increasing the fill level caused the skewness to decrease. As more strands
were loaded into the blender the flights tended to become overloaded, causing the strands to
slough off the flights relatively early. This placed downward pressure on the skewness.

Similar to the effect of the number of the flights, increasing the rotational speed also caused
the skewness to increase. At less than approximately 21 RPM however, the speed appeared
to have only a minimal impact on the skewness. One explanation for this is that as the speed
decreased the strands became less dispersed across the drum diameter. This consolidation of
strands continued until the strands were packed in the lower-right drum quadrant, rolling
amongst themselves (Figure 38). 21 RPM could be the speed at which point there is only
minimal free fall of strands and the majority of strands are rolling in this region.

Figure 38. Simulation image showing strands rolling in the corner of the drum, where there
are 8-4 inch flights and the blender is rotating at 18.71 RPM and is 1/4 full.
(a)
(b) (c) (d)
(h)
(g)
(f) (e)
-72-
A positive relationship between the skewness and rotational speed was expected based on
previous work (Davis 1919; Smith and Gutiu 2002). As the rotational speed, n, increased so
to did the centrifugal force, F
C
(Equation 12). This caused the strands to stay in contact with
the flights or drum wall longer as the centrifugal force caused detachment to occur at a higher
angle.
g r
F
F
g
C
2
= [12]
n r 2 = [13]
where:
is the angular velocity,
r is the distance from the center of the drum,
g is gravitational acceleration, and
n is the rotational speed in rpm.

This effect is magnified by the fact that as the flow of strands moves further across the drum
the falling strands are dispersed amongst a larger number of flights. This reduces the
likelihood of strands piling in the lower-right drum quadrant waiting to be collected by a
passing flight. Figure 39 shows an example of flight utilization. At 18.71 RPM the strands
are dispersed across only 9 flights, compared to 14 at 28.07 RPM.

Figure 39. (Left) Simulation image showing the dispersion of strands across relatively few
flights when the blender is rotating at 18.71 RPM and (right) across many flights when the
blender is rotating at 28.07 RPM. In both cases the blender has 16-4 inch flights and is 1/8
th

full.

The piling of strands in the blender and the movement of the passing flights through the pile
is a possible contributor to strand attrition caused by the grinding of strands. It may also
result in poorly aligned strands on the flights as the strands become interlocked. Poor
alignment creates challenges for predicting when the strands will detach from their respective
-73-
flight. Generally, the results show that poorly aligned strands detach prematurely, placing
downward pressure on the skewness.

Flight height had an interesting effect on the skewness. Between 2 and 4 inches a positive
relationship was anticipated. This is because as the flight height increased each flight was
capable of carrying a larger number of strands, resulting in an increased overall system
capacity. As seen prior, with a fixed volume of strands, the capacity had a direct impact on
the skewness. Beyond 4 inches however, the relationship between the flight height and
skewness became negative. This was not foreseen but can be explained by examining the
forces acting on the strands.

As the flight height increased the edge of the flights were closer to the center of rotation of
the blender, resulting in a lower centrifugal force acting on those strands located nearer the
edge of the flights. This caused the strands to begin detaching and descending sooner than
with shorter flights that were further from the center of rotation. This same trend may not
have been seen with flights between 2 and 4 inches because the shorter flights were incapable
of lifting an adequate amount of strands. As a result, the quantity of strands that prematurely
fell from the shorter flights had less impact on the overall strand flow statistics. Based on
these findings, it appears that flights that are between 4 and 5 inches in height strike a good
balance between capacity and control over the strand detachment point for this particular
1.840 meter (6.04 feet) diameter blender. It is important to recognize however that the
difference in the predicted skewness for flights that are 4 inches and larger in height in not
significant.

5.3.1.2 Effect of an atomizer boom on the skewness results
The significant main effects that were determined according to the ANOVA selection
method, using a 95% confidence level, was reduced from all four factors to only two factors
when the atomizer boom was included. These factors were the fill level and the blender
rotational speed. All four factors were ultimately included however in order to maintain the
skewness model hierarchy.

The inclusion of an atomizer boom in the simulations had a slight impact on the overall
relationship between two of the main effects and the skewness (Table 32). While in general
-74-
these relationships did not drastically change over the tested ranges (Figures 34 and 40), they
are worth evaluating in order to better understand the bulk strand dynamics and the impact
the atomizer boom placement has on it. The model for predicting the skewness is shown in
Equation 14. This model yields an F-value of 18.3728 (p-value < 0.0001), which is
significant at a 95% confidence level ( = 0.05).

Table 32. List of effects for the skewness when an atomizer boom is present, showing (left)
the significant effects and (right) the significant effects as well as those that were included to
maintain the model hierarchy.
Factor p-value
Fill level 0.0126
Number of flights x Rotational speed 0.0127
Fill level
2
0.0070
Rotational speed
2
0.0443
Number of flights
2
x
Rotational speed
0.0419

Factor p-value
Fill level 0.0126
Number of flights
2
0.6020
Number of flights x Rotational speed 0.0127
Fill level
2
0.0070
Rotational speed
2
0.0443
Number of flights
2
x
Rotational speed
0.0419

4 2 1
2
4
2
3 4 2 3 2 4 1
2
1 4 3 2 1
0024 . 0
0149 . 0 4595 . 76 0764 . 0 6584 . 1 0664 . 0
0536 . 0 2556 . 1 0559 . 22 1450 . 1 4394 . 1 1295 . 19
X X X
X X X X X X X X
X X X X X Sk
+ + + +
+ =
[14]
where:
Sk is the predicted skewness,
X
1
is the number of flights,
X
2
is the flight height in inches,
X
3
is the blender fill level as a fraction of the total blender volume, and
X
4

-75-

skewness and the (top-left) number of flights, (top-right) flight height, (bottom-left) fill level,
and (bottom-right) blender rotational speed when an atomizer boom is included in the
simulation. The vertical lines and x-axes labels indicate the factor levels used for the
creation of these specific graphs.

The main effect and skewness relationships that changed involve the flight height and
blender fill level. In both cases it was in the upper portion of the tested ranges where a
deviation in the results was observed. When the atomizer boom was not included in the
simulations the skewness was not significantly affected by flights greater than 4 inches.
With the atomizer boom in place however skewness increased with flight height across the
entire tested range. Recall that an increasing skewness is an indicator of more strands being
concentrated on the downward rotating half of the drum. A possible explanation for this
discrepancy is that the strands that detached prematurely from the longer flights tended to
contact the top of the atomizer boom. These strands then traveled over the boom and
descended on the downward rotating half of the drum, instead of the upward rotating half or
near the drum center. This had a positive impact on the skewness. Conversely, when the
flights were relatively short and the strands were not carried as far up the blender wall before
detaching, many of the strands collided with the side of the atomizer boom during their
decent. These strands were unable to travel as far across the blender drum, resulting in a
lower, or more negative, strand distribution (Figure 41).
fr
-76-

2-inch flights

6-inch flights

Figure 41. Simulation images showing the dispersion of strands across the blender diameter
when there is (top-left) no atomizer boom and there are 2 inch flights, (top-right) no atomizer
boom and there are 6 inch flights, (bottom-left) an atomizer and there are 2 inch flights, and
(bottom-right) an atomizer boom and there are 6 inch flights. In all cases there were 16
flights and the blender rotated at 23.39 RPM.

The skewness decreased consistently with an increasing fill level when the atomizer boom
was not present. This was a result of the fixed blender capacity and the inability of the
blender to lift, carry, and disperse the increasing amount of strands across the blender
diameter. With the atomizer boom in place this same trend was not observed across the
tested range. In fact at a 20% fill level the relationship between the predicted skewness and
fill level became positive. This change in behavior is a result of strands becoming wedged
between the atomizer boom and the blender wall. When the fill level reaches a particular
point, in this case around 20%, there is a chance that collections of strands will become
wedged in this region (Figure 42). The collection of strands is then carried over the atomizer
boom and deposited on the opposite side of the drum, positively affecting the skewness.
Because these strands are forced together between the boom and blender wall, there is also a
greater chance that they will become interlocked and move as a clump through the drum,
No
atomizer
boom
Atomizer
boom
-77-
causing the phenomenon to repeat itself. This strand behavior may be a contributing factor to
surging in blenders.

Figure 42. Simulation image showing strands as they become wedged between the atomizer
boom and blender wall when operating at elevated fill levels, indicated by the dashed oval.
In this case the blender is full and is equipped with 8, 4 inch flights and is rotating at 28.07
RPM.

Surging occurs when a large number of strands become mechanically interlocked and a
portion of these strands are lifted by the flights. Those strands that are not supported by the
flights, but instead are being lifted because they are mechanical interlocked with those
strands that are supported, eventually break free and descend as a clump of strands. This
clump of strands overwhelms the flights that they fall upon and the process continues. Once
this process begins it will typically perpetuate until there is a disruption, for example when
the affected strands are discharged from the blender. Unfortunately, the resin distribution
amongst those strands will be generally poor.

5.3.1.3 Kurtosis
In addition to skewness, kurtosis was also used to describe the distribution of strands across
the drum diameter. While skewness is an indicator of how symmetric the strand distribution
is between the upward rotating and downward rotating half of the blender, kurtosis is an
indicator of the uniformity of the strand distribution across the blender diameter. If the
strands were normally distributed the kurtosis would be 0. For these simulations however, a
uniform distribution is sought and is obtained for a kurtosis value of 1.2.

Wedge region
-78-
Using an ANOVA to determine the significant effects it was found that none of the main
effects were significant; however, three of the interactions were (Table 33). The most
notable interaction was between the number of flights and the flight height. This
combination is present in all three of the significant interactions shown in Table 33. The
model for predicting the kurtosis is shown in Equation 15 and yields an F-value of 17.8156
(p-value < 0.0001), which is significant at a 95% confidence level ( = 0.05).

Table 33. List of effects for the kurtosis showing (left) the significant effects and (right) the
significant effects as well as those that were included to maintain the model hierarchy.
Factor p-value
Number of flights
2
x Flight height 0.0243
Number of flights x Flight height
2
0.0442
Factor p-value
Number of flights
2
0.1128
Flight height
2
0.1041
Number of flights
2
2
0.0442

2
2 1 2
2
1
2
2
2 1
2
1 2 1
0770 . 0 04115 . 0 1599 . 1
6924 . 1 1999 . 0 8225 . 15 3111 . 6 8071 . 47
X X X X X
X X X X X K

+ + + =
[15]
where:
K is the predicted kurtosis,
X
1
is the number of flights, and
X
2
is the flight height in inches.

In order to facilitate the interpretation of these results the graphs shown in Figures 43 and 44
were generated in SAS. These graphs present four combinations of the number of flights and
the flight height. Figure 43 shows kurtosis with the flight height fixed at 4 inches and the
number of flights at 4 and 16, while Figure 44 shows kurtosis with the number of flights
fixed at 14 and the flight height at 2 and 6 inches. As shown in the graphs, the combination
of effects had a considerable impact on the kurtosis trends. Note that the y-axis scale is not
the same for the top and bottom sets of graphs in both figures; however, the graphs showing
the relationship between the kurtosis and number of flights (left) in Figure 43 are in fact the
same except for the 95% confidence interval, which is unique to the chosen factor level. This
is also true for the graphs showing the relationship between the kurtosis and the flight height
(right) in Figure 44.
-79-

Figure 43. Prediction profiles generated in SAS showing the impact of the (left) number of
flights on the relationship between (right) the kurtosis and the flight height. The vertical
lines and x-axes labels indicate the factor levels used for the creation of these specific graphs.

height on the relationship between (left) the kurtosis and the number of flights. The vertical
lines and x-axes labels indicate the factor levels used for the creation of these specific graphs.

-80-
As the number of flights increased from 4 to 16 the significance of flight height quickly
diminished. With only 4 flights, the kurtosis decreased quickly with increasing flight height.
With 16 flights however, kurtosis increased slowly with increasing flight height, but overall
the trend was insignificant. Building upon the skewness discussion and interpretation, these
results were likely caused by the combination of the blender fill level and the capacity of the
blender to lift and disperse strands. With only a few relatively short flights, the blender
capacity was low. As a result, the majority of the strands remained in the lower-right
quadrant of the drum and the quantity of strands that were lifted out of this quadrant and
dispersed was insignificant. With only 4 flights, increasing the length of the flight had a
large impact on the capacity and the resulting kurtosis. As one might expect, increasing the
number of flights diminished the impact of increasing flight height due to the strands being
spread across more flights.

Focusing now on the scenario where the number of flights was fixed at 14, as the flight
height increased from 2 to 6 inches the impact of the number of flights on the kurtosis
changed considerably. With 2 inch flights, increasing the number of flights caused the
kurtosis to decrease. This was true up until 13 flights, after which the kurtosis stabilized at
around 1.4. With 6 inch flights the kurtosis increased when there were 4 to 10 flights and
then decreased when there were 13 to 16 flights; however, the difference was only minimally
significant across this latter range. This was consistent with the previous scenario and the
skewness findings. With 2 inch flights, increasing the amount of flights had a significant
impact on the capacity of the blender to lift and disperse strands. With 6 inch flights the
relationship between kurtosis and the number of flights became considerably less significant
as the demand for additional capacity decreased.

5.3.1.4 Effect of an atomizer boom on the kurtosis results
The presence of an atomizer boom in the simulations did not impact those effects that were
found to be significant according to the ANOVA selection method. It did however impact the
significance of the number of flights flight height interaction on the kurtosis (Table 34,
Figures 45 and 46). With 16 flights the relationship between the flight height and kurtosis
went from marginally positive to significantly negative (Figure 45). One explanation for this
occurrence is that the atomizer boom helps disperse strands more evenly on either side of the
drum. This is because as the strands fall on top of the boom they slide off on both sides.
-81-
However, in order for this to occur, the detachment point of the strands must be higher than
the boom so that they may fall on top of it. This is why the kurtosis became highly positive
with shorter flights. As discussed previously, with shorter flights the strands collide with the
side of the boom and then fall in a near perfect vertical direction to the bottom of the drum.
This caused a spike in the frequency of strands falling within a narrow region on the upward
rotating side of the atomizer boom.

The relationship between the number of flights and kurtosis remained relatively unchanged
with the inclusion of the atomizer boom when the flight height was set at 2 and 6 inches. The
model for predicting the kurtosis is shown in Equation 16 and yields an F-value of 11.0681
(p-value < 0.0001), which is significant at a 95% confidence level ( = 0.05).

Table 34. List of effects for the kurtosis when an atomizer boom is present, showing (left)
the significant effects and (right) the significant effects as well as those that were included to
maintain the model hierarchy.
Factor p-value
Flight height
2
0.0279
Number of flights
2
2
0.0438
Factor p-value
Number of flights
2
0.0880
Flight height
2
0.0279
Number of flights
2
2
0.0438

2
2 1 2
2
1
2
2 2 1
2
1 2 1
0503 . 0 0413 . 0
9161 . 0 3854 . 1 1921 . 0 3962 . 13 3881 . 5 3048 . 42
X X X X
X X X X X X K

+ + + =
[16]

where:
K is the predicted kurtosis,
X
1
is the number of flights, and
X
2
is the flight height in inches.

-82-

Figure 45. Prediction profiles generated in SAS showing the impact of the (left) number of
flights on the relationship between (right) the kurtosis and the flight height when an atomizer
boom is present.

height on the relationship between (left) the kurtosis and the number of flights when an
atomizer boom is present.
-83-
5.3.1.5 Average time a strand spent in the resination region
The average time a strand spent in the resination region for a fixed number of revolutions
was shown to be strongly related to the flight height and the blender rotational speed (Figure
47). The average time decreased with both increasing flight height and rotational speed. The
model for predicting the average time a strand spends in the resination region is shown in
Equation 17 and yields an F-value of 33.8102 (p-value < 0.0001), which is significant at a
95% confidence level ( = 0.05).

4 2
0794 . 0 1124 . 0 5407 . 3 X X t = [17]
where:
t is the predicted average time in seconds,
X
2
is the flight height in inches, and
X
4

average time spent in the resination region and the (left) flight height and (right) blender
rotational speed. The vertical lines and x-axes labels indicate the factor levels used for the
creation of these specific graphs.

As demonstrated in Figure 48, the negative relationship between the flight height and the
average time spent in the resination region as well as the rotational speed and the average
time was caused by similar phenomena. With relatively small flights and/or low rotational
speeds the strands tended to cluster and roll amongst themselves in the lower-right drum
quadrant. These strands fell slowly through the resination region as they moved within the
cluster. In addition, because they were clustered within a small area the strands did not have
to travel far before making a complete revolution. The strands therefore passed more
frequently through the resination area. As the flight height and/or rotational speed increased
the rolling motion decreased as a greater fraction of the strands were lifted by the flights and
A
v
e
r
a
g
e

t
i
m
e

i
n

r
e
s
i
n
a
t
i
o
n

r
e
g
i
o
n

(
s
e
c
)

A
v
e
r
a
g
e

t
i
m
e

i
n

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e
s
i
n
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o
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(
s
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c
)

-84-
dispersed across the blender. These strands passed relatively quickly through the resination
region on their descent and made fewer revolutions.

Low speed

High speed

Figure 48. Simulation images showing (top-left) the clustering of strands at relatively low
speeds with 2-inch flights, (top-right) the dispersion of strands at relatively high speeds with
2-inch flights, (bottom-left) the clustering of strands at relatively low speeds with 6-inch
flights, (bottom-right) the dispersion of strands at relatively high speeds with 6-inch flights.
Note that strands cluster more with shorter flights and/or slower blender rotational speeds.
The blender rotational speeds were 18.71 RPM and 28.07 RPM respectively.

Although the overall objective of an operation is to devise a set of operating and design
parameters that results in the strands spending the maximum time possible in the resination
region, there are other criteria that must first be met. For instance, the strands should be well
dispersed across the blender diameter. Scenarios where there is clustering and rolling of
strands (Figure 48) is not desirable because only the strands on the surface of the cluster
would become resinated. As reported by Smith (2006), PF-resin does not spread well after
its initial contact with the wood substrate. Therefore, blending operations cannot rely on the
smearing and transfer of resin between strands for resination purposes, as is the case with
particleboard blending (Maloney 1993). PMDI-resin is able to transfer; however, this
2-inch
flights
6-inch
flights
-85-
scenario is still not desirable as it is not an efficient use of resin and the blender (Smith
2006).

5.3.1.6 Effect of an atomizer boom on the average time a strand spent in the resination
region
The inclusion of an atomizer boom in the simulations had an effect on the selection of
significant factors, ultimately reducing the number of factors that impacted the predicted
average total time a strand spends in the resination region from two to one. The model for
predicting the average time a strand spends in the resination region is shown in Equation 18
and yields an F-value of 33.4386 (p-value < 0.0001), which is significant at a 95%
confidence level ( = 0.05).

4
0772 . 0 0912 . 3 X t = [18]
where:
t is the predicted average time in seconds, and
X
4

With the atomizer boom present only the blender rotational speed was significant. It is not
surprising that the flight height was no longer significant. As was shown before, the
principal difference between the flow pattern of the strands when the blender is equipped
with long flights versus short flights is which side of the atomizer boom the majority of
strands fall on. With longer flights the strands are more likely to fall on top of the atomizer
boom and slide off on either or both sides of the blender. With shorter flights the strands
tend to collide with the side of the boom and fall almost entirely on the upward rotating side
of the blender. In either case the strands fall near vertically to the bottom of the drum after
collision with the boom. This near vertical drop of the strands through the resination region
for both scenarios resulted in a relatively short period of time spent in that region. This is
compared to the case where there is no atomizer boom and the associated longer parabolic
trajectory of a strand that detaches from the drum and does not collide with a boom.

5.3.1.7 Discussion
The results showing the general relationship between the factors and response variables
confirmed many of the previous speculations regarding the operation of rotary drum
blenders. In particular, the results show that the skewness increased with an increasing
-86-
number of flights, flight height, and blender rotational speed within the tested ranges. The
impact of flight height on the skewness diminished as the flight height increased, likely due
to early detachment that is a result of the strands being closer to the axis of rotation of the
drum. Increasing the blender fill level had the opposite effect on the skewness, causing it to
decrease. These interactions are largely related to the overall capacity of the blender to lift,
carry, and finally disperse a fraction of the total strands across the blender diameter. The
capacity is broadly determined by two factors, the size of the individual flight and the
number of flights that the strands are spread across.

In addition to confirming some previous thoughts regarding blending dynamics, the results
also presented several interesting findings. Most notable was the significance of the
interaction between the flight height and the number of flights on the kurtosis. This suggests
that during the manufacturing of blenders it is vital that care and attention be focused on the
selection and placement of flights. Once the blender is in operation it is very difficult to
change either of these parameters. Further, it was shown that the average time a strand spent
in the resination region was negatively related to the flight height and the rotational speed.
Upon visual inspection of the results it was determined that, although strands spent more
time in the resination region with smaller flights and/or at lower speeds, the additional time
spent in the region was not beneficial because a considerably smaller percentage of the
strands were actually exposed to the atomized resin.

The impact of the atomizer boom on the strand dynamics was largely dependent on whether
or not the strands were carried high enough by the flights to cascade over top of the atomizer
boom. In either case the strands tended to stream off of the respective side(s) of the boom.
In several extreme cases where the blender was filled full the strands became wedged
between the atomizer boom and the drum wall, resulting in a surging effect.

5.3.2 Research applications
These results were further analyzed based on two perspectives: the wood strand-based
product manufacturers (end-users), and the blender manufacturers. This work focused on the
opportunities both groups have for optimizing their blenders given the available resources,
such as the ability for an operation to make changes within a short timeframe. The goal is to
-87-
gain unique insight into the impact each of the aforementioned segments may have on the
bulk strand dynamics by making changes to the blender design and/or operating parameters.

5.3.2.1 Wood strand-based product manufacturers
For existing operations it may not be possible or practical to change the number of flights or
flight height. While the flight height can be changed by purchasing new flights and installing
them during an extended downtime, the number of flights is determined by the drilled hole
pattern in the blender drum and would require considerable time to change. Generally
however, neither alteration is desirable. In addition, the blender fill level is largely
determined by the demand from the proceeding process and the feed rate from the dry strand
bins. While there is a target fill level, this level can fluctuate during disturbances in the
manufacturing process. This leaves the blender rotational speed as the only factor that can be
changed accordingly while the process is running.

Figure 49 shows the contour graph for the skewness based on the fill level and simulated
blender rotational speed for four common flight heights: 3, 4, 5, and 6 inch with no boom
present. The number of flights was fixed at 14, or approximately every 16 inches along the
circumference, which is typical for an industrial blender (Coil 2007b; Coil 2008). In
addition to the skewness, the predicted average time a strand spends in the resination was
also included in the graphs. The aim is to select operating parameters that result in a
skewness of 0 while maximizing the average time spent in the resination region. All of the
contour graphs are for a 6 foot simulated blender. Although this diameter is smaller than that
of typical industrial blenders, as outlined in Section 5.2 it is anticipated that the results of this
study can be scaled for use on an industrial blender.

-88-

speed using 3, 4, 5, and 6-inch flights. The number of flights has been fixed at 14.

The graphs suggest that as the fill level decreases the rotational speed must also decrease to
maintain a skewness of 0. This relationship becomes more apparent as the flight height
increases. For example, with 3 inch flights, a drop in the fill level from 25% to 7% only
requires a slight reduction in speed from 25.5 RPM to 24 RPM. However, with 6 inch
flights, a drop in the fill level from merely 25% to 19% requires a reduction in speed from 25
(sec) (sec)
(sec) (sec)
-89-
RPM to 18.9 RPM. Throughout the wood strand-based product industry, the growing trend
has been to use higher flights in conjunction with larger diameter blenders to increase
capacity. Consequently, if it is assumed that this relationship between the blender fill level
and rotational speed remains true as the drum diameter increases, operations run the risk of
operating their blenders sub-optimally with only slight fluctuations in the blender feed rate.
Therefore, it is imperative that operations link the blender rotational speed with the blender
feed rate. This way the process could adapt accordingly to changes in the strand flow and the
resulting blender fill level. Alternatively, shorter flights could be employed if blender
capacity is not a concern. This would reduce the impact strand flow fluctuations have on the
blending environment.

5.3.2.2 Effect of the atomizer boom for wood strand-based product manufacturers
The contour graphs indicate a sizeable shift in the required rotational speed given a specific
fill level when an atomizer boom is present (Figure 50). In addition to this, the relationship
between the blender fill level and the blender rotational speed was no longer strictly positive,
instead all four of the flight heights included exhibit a negative relationship above a
particular fill level.

-90-

speed using 3, 4, 5, and 6-inch flights when an atomizer boom is present. The number of
flights has been fixed at 14.

Until the point of inflection where the required rotational speed begins to decrease for an
increasing fill level, the required rotational speed to achieve and maintain a skewness of 0 is
considerably higher when the atomizer boom is present. As an example, with 14-4 inch
flights, and operating at 18% full, the required rotational speed when an atomizer boom is
present is 27 RPM, versus less that 22 RPM when the atomizer boom is not present. The
(sec)
(sec) (sec)
(sec)
-91-
reason for this necessary increase in rotational speed is because the boom impedes on the
trajectory of strands. When the atomizer boom is not present the strands can travel
unobstructed through the center of the blender after detaching from the flights. When the
atomizer boom is included however, many of those strands collide with the side of the boom.
As a result, the blender must rotate faster to increase the centrifugal force acting on the
strands so that they detach at a later point and fall on top of the atomizer boom, or at least so
that the strands are dispersed more evenly on either side of the boom.

Interestingly, above a certain fill level the required rotational speed begins to decrease. This
was not observed when the atomizer boom was not present. This change in behavior is due
to the phenomenon first discussed when investigating the impact of the atomizer boom on the
skewness, where it was found that strands became wedged between the atomizer boom and
blender wall at elevated fill levels. As the cluster of strands travels over top of the atomizer
boom they eventually descend on the downward rotating side of the blender, increasing the
skewness. The easiest way to avoid this from occurring is to reduce the blender rotational
speed. Unfortunately, this results in considerably fewer strands being lifted and dispersed by
the flights, instead the strands cluster in the lower-right drum quadrant (Figure 38). As
shown in the contour graphs presented in Figure 50, an alternative solution is to use higher
flights. Higher flights reduce the dependency of the fill level on the required rotational
speed.

5.3.2.3 Blender manufacturers
Unlike the end users of rotary drum blenders, blender manufacturers have nearly complete
flexibility on the blender design. Given a specific set of operating parameters, they can
prescribe a specific flight design and drill the holes for a particular number flights that would
result in the optimal strand distribution. As a result, blender manufacturers should be most
interested in knowing the relationship between flight height and the required number of
flights and its impact on the strand distribution. This interaction was shown previously to
have a significant impact on the strand distribution.

Blenders are designed and sourced based on the required maximum throughput (Coil 2008).
The combination of the required throughput and the design and operating parameters will
ultimately determine the blender fill level. Once the blender design and operating parameters
-92-
have been established for this maximum fill level, it was shown that the strand distribution
can be controlled by reducing the rotational speed accordingly as the fill level fluctuates
below this maximum point. During the initial sourcing stage however, it is necessary to first
establish the maximum fill level and rotational speed so that the flight height and placement
can be determined accordingly.

The graphs shown in Figure 51 were generated assuming the maximum fill level was 25%.
They illustrate the impact various rotational speeds and combinations of flight height and
number of flights have on the predicted skewness and kurtosis of the strand distribution and
the predicted average time a strand spends in the resination region. While blender
manufacturers should strive to achieve a kurtosis of -1.2 and to maximize the average time a
strand spends in the resination region, balancing the distribution of strands on either side of
the blender is perhaps the most important characteristic to accomplish as an initial step. A
balanced distribution is identified by a skewness of 0.

Figure 51 suggests that the required number of flights and flight height are largely dependent
upon each other as well as the rotational speed. Generally, as the number of flights increases
the flight height that maintains a skewness of 0 decreases. Further, the required number of
flights and/or flight height also decreases with increasing rotational speeds. From previous
work it has been shown that flights between 4 and 5 inches in height appear to strike the
optimal balance between capacity and control over strand placement. Based on this target
flight height, the required number of flights ranges from approximately 15 at 23 RPM to 4 at
28 RPM. When the kurtosis is included in this analysis however, it is shown that there must
be at least 11 flights present to achieve a kurtosis of -1.2. This creates an upper bound for the
rotational speed of between 25 and 26 RPM. Note that the average total time that a strand
spends in the resination region has not been included in these graphs to improve legibility. In
all cases, the average total time increases from right to left on the graphs.

-93-

Figure 51. Contour graphs based on number of flights and flight height. The rotational
speed ranged from 23 to 28 RPM and the fill level was fixed at 25%.

fr fr
fr fr
fr fr
-94-
5.3.2.4 Effect of the atomizer boom for blender manufacturers
The atomizer boom had a significant effect on the resulting contour graphs. Given the
specified boom location it is virtually impossible to achieve a kurtosis of -1.2, or at least a
relatively even strand distribution, without using either 4 or 16, 6 inch flights. This is
consistent with the findings of the Overall Predictive Trends. However, with 4 flights the
strands are not well positioned to come into contact with the resin discharging from the
atomizers (Figure 38).

The general relationship between the number of flights and the flight height that maintained a
skewness of 0 remained similar with and without the atomizer boom. However, the required
flight height that corresponds to a particular number of flights increased across all of the
tested rotational speeds when the fill level was fixed at 25%. For example, at 26 RPM and
with 11 flights, the required flight height increased from approximately 3.8 inches to 4.6
inches when the boom was included. This increase was necessary because the strands
needed to be lifted higher, or to a larger angle, before detaching from the flights. This caused
more of the strands to fall on top of the atomizer boom and disperse into the downward
rotating half of the blender.

-95-

Figure 52. Contour graphs for the inclusion of an atomizer boom based on number of flights
and flight height. The rotational speed ranged from 23 to 28 RPM and the fill level was fixed
at 25%.
fr fr
fr fr
fr fr
-96-
In addition to an increased required flight height, the results also show opportunity for
optimizing the configuration of the atomizer mounts. The alignment of the mounts
ultimately determines the alignment of the atomizers, whether they be vertical or at an angle.

Most existing operations have their atomizer mounts oriented vertically. While the option is
now available for a staggered mount design (Appendix C), it is still relatively uncommon for
atomizer mounts to be positioned at an angle. The simulation images show however that the
angle in which the strands stream off of the atomizer boom, or in front of the atomizer itself,
is largely dependent on the rotational speed (Figure 53). In fact, this angle ranged from 14
at 18.71 RPM to 7 at 28.07 RPM. This suggests that the angle of the atomizer mount should
be adaptable to changes in the rotational speed of the blender. If the strands collide with the
atomizer, or come within close proximity, individual strands will collect a disproportionate
amount of resin, starving other strands of resin.

Figure 53. Simulation images showing the streaming of strands off of the atomizer boom at
(a) 18.71 RPM, (b) 23.39 RPM, and (c) 28.07 RPM. The simulated blenders were each
equipped with 8-4 inch flights and filled 1/4 full. The angles that the strands stream off of
the boom are approximately 14, 12, and 7 from vertical respectively.
14
12 7
(a)
(b) (c)
18.71 RPM
23.39 RPM 28.07 RPM
-97-
5.3.2.5 Discussion
The analyses focused on the end users of rotary drum blenders and the blender manufacturers
presented several considerable implications and opportunities. First, these findings reveal
whether or not an operation is even capable of achieving the desirable strand distribution. For
instance, with 14-4 inch flights and operating with fill levels much less than 14%, it is
unlikely that a skewness of 0 can ever be achieved, and the minimum fill level whereby this
target can still be reached only increases with increasing flight heights. Fortunately, most
operations tend to run their blenders between 25% and 50% full anyways, so this may only
be an issue during severe disruptions in the process.

Second, these findings suggest that operations should link the blender rotational speed with
the factors that impact the blender fill level, such as the feed rate and blender tilt angle. As
the fill level increases the rotational speed should also increase to maintain the optimal
blending dynamics. Because of the extent of automation that is present in most operations,
linking these processes would not be an insurmountable challenge. The challenge is knowing
the relationship between the factors; however, based on the results with 5 and 6 inch flights,
this challenge is certainly worth overcoming because of the significant impact changes to the
fill level have on the skewness when the rotational speed remains unchanged.

Third, this modeling approach could be used for determining when blender maintenance is
required. During normal operation the inside of a blender drum becomes coated with strands,
effectively reducing the inside drum diameter and changing the flight profile. By modeling
the strand dynamics with different drum diameters and flight shapes, it would be possible to
develop a threshold for an acceptable amount of strand build up before it will begin
significantly affecting the strand dynamics.

Fourth, as was seen in the Overall Predictive Trends, the interaction between the flight height
and the number of flights had a significant impact on the strand dynamics. This is where
considerable implications lie for the blender manufacturers. The optimal combination of
flight height and number of flights is dependant on the maximum fill level and rotational
speed. The results show that if the blender is sourced and designed using these expected
maximum values, then the rotational speed alone can be used for counteracting any
downward fluctuations in the fill level during operation.
-98-

Finally, the inclusion of an atomizer boom proved to have a significant impact on the strand
dynamics. Diligence must be practiced when selecting the position for the atomizer boom(s)
and selecting a maximum fill level. As was demonstrated, when the fill level exceeds a
particular point there is an increased risk that the strands will begin traveling as clusters over
top of the atomizer boom, resulting in surging. Also, the angle that the strands stream off of
the boom, or immediately in front of the atomizers, should be taken into consideration when
the orientation of the atomizer mounts is decided. The results suggest that this angle should
be adjustable to cope with changes to the blending conditions.

5.4 Conclusions
Response surface methodology proved to be an effective method for reviewing the impact
multiple blender design and operating parameters have on the wood strand dynamics, as
described by the skewness and kurtosis of the strand distribution and the average time a
strand spent in the resination region. This technique was used for evaluating the results on
three levels: an overview of the general relationship between the factors and response
variables, the implications this research has for end users of rotary drum blenders, and finally
the implications this research has for blender manufacturers. The findings of this research
are summarized below:

General
All four blender design and operating parameters significantly affected the skewness,
o With increasing the number of flights or blender rotational speed the skewness
increased,
o With increasing the fill level the skewness decreased, and
o With increasing the flight height between 2 and 3 inches the skewness
increased, otherwise the skewness stabilized for flights 4 inches or more in
height.
Only the interaction between flight height and the number of flights had a significant
effect on the kurtosis,
Increasing the flight height and blender rotational speed both caused the average time
a strand spent in the resination region to decrease, and
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The inclusion of an atomizer boom had a significant effect on the bulk strand
dynamics, particularly at elevated fill levels.

Specific
The blender rotational speed and tilt angle should be linked to the blender feed rate to
autocorrect for disruptions in the process,
Considerable attention should be made during the initial sourcing and design of a
blender to find the optimal combination of flight height and number of flights for a
specific maximum rotational speed and fill level, and
An adjustable atomizer mount angle would create a significant benefit when/if
changes in the blending conditions occur. This angle should be linked to the blender
rotational speed.

-100-
CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY AND FUTURE WORK.

This research project was divided into three distinct phases. The first phase laid the
groundwork before work could begin using the RDBM. Perhaps the most critical input
parameter for a model that simulates the rotary drum blending process is the static friction
coefficients. Because of the challenges associated with systems of material surfaces where at
least one wood surface is present (as discussed in Section 2.3), specific static coefficient of
friction values are not readily available in the published literature. As a result, a series of
laboratory experiments were conducted. The objectives were to first determine the impact of
contact pressure and grain alignment on the coefficient. And second, to determine the
relationship between the static coefficients of friction for systems involving two wood strand
surfaces versus systems involving a single wood strand surface and a HDPE surface. The
findings of this work suggested that the contact pressure has a significant effect on the
coefficient of static friction. It also found that the two systems were related by a ratio of
approximately 2:1 respectively. Although the absolute coefficient of friction values were
ultimately adjusted for the final RDBM, this 2:1 ratio remained in effect.

During the second phase of the project it was determined which of the six material and
interaction input parameters were significant to the bulk strand dynamics in the RDBM.
Together with software literature (DEM Solutions 2008), it was shown that the optimal
combination of input parameters will not only result in representative strand flow dynamics,
but will also minimize the overall required processing time for a simulation. A series of
simulations were conducted in a systematic manner to find the combination of those
significant parameters where the simulated results closely resembled those obtained using a 6
foot laboratory blender. It was also during this phase that three quantification techniques
were decided upon for measuring the strand flow. Skewness and kurtosis were used for
quantifying the strand distribution across the drum diameter, and the average time a strand
spent in the resination region was used for quantifying the opportunity a strand had to
become resinated.

-101-
After the RDBM had been calibrated for this particular model setup (including the strand size
and shape and blender diameter) and the effectiveness of the quantification techniques had
been tested, an exploratory study was designed to investigate the significance of several
blender design and operating parameters on the bulk strand flow. These parameters included:
the flight height, number of flights, blender rotational speed, and blender fill level on the bulk
strand flow. In general the impact of these properties on the bulk strand flow, as described
by the skewness and kurtosis of the strand distribution across the drum diameter, could be
explained by focusing on their influence on the blending system capacity, or the ability of the
blending system to lift, carry, and disperse strands across the blender. As the capacity
increased the strands detached from the drum circumference later and traveled further across
the diameter on their decent. As the capacity decreased, or the strand volume increased, the
strand loading per flight increased resulting in a relatively early detachment point for a large
quantity of strands. Increasing the flight height, number of flights, and/or rotational speed all
resulted in an increased blender capacity.

6.1 Future Work
The exploratory component of this research was relatively limited, only focusing on two
blender design and two operational parameters. A more thorough investigation of a broader
range of parameters would be a significant contribution to both industry and academia. The
range of possible factors to consider has increased substantially since the beginning of this
project. This is because of advancements in both the software and computing capabilities.

The most obvious and probably worthwhile factors to consider are the flight shape and
blender diameter. This research only focused on flights that were 90
o
to the drum wall. In
reality, flights are typically purchased bull-nosed or become bull-nosed while in service due
to the buildup of strands along the surfaces. The effect of flight shape is likely significant to
the strand flow. The angle of the leading face of the flight would effectively cause the
strands to detach earlier.

Examining the effect of the drum diameter would also be worthwhile. This research only
focused on a 6 foot diameter blender. This was partially due to software and computing
limitations, but mostly because it coincided with the size of the laboratory blender.
Simulating a 6 foot blender therefore allowed for validation experiments to be carried out as
-102-
required. Industrial blenders range in size from 8 to 11 feet however. As a result, focusing
on larger diameter blenders would certainly be worthwhile from an industrial perspective.
Fortunately, software and computing capabilities will now permit simulating larger diameter
blenders in a timely manner.

Because of these software and computing advancements it is also now possible to extend the
length of the simulated blender. This research relied on a 1 foot section of blender.
Extending the length to even 6 feet would enable one to examine the effect of blender tilt
angle on the residence time. Residence time, or the time that a strand spends in the blender,
ultimately affects the opportunity strands have to become resinated. If the residence time
must be increased the blender tilt may be either decreased or the drum lengthened.

In addition to scaling the model towards a full sized, industrial blender, it would also be
worthwhile to examine the impact the atomizer boom location has on the strand flow. For
the study presented in Chapter 5 the atomizer boom was placed in a position typical of
todays industrial blenders. This location may not be the optimal solution however.

Ultimately, future research should focus first on determining the validity of scaling the 6 foot
by 1 foot RDBM to an industrial blender. Additional research can then be pursued to
investigate the effect of flight shape and atomizer boom location on the strand flow.
-103-
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-108-
APPENDIX A

COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION - SAS ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

The GLM Procedure
Class Level Information
Class Levels Values
Orientation 3 1 2 3
Material_Combination 2 1 2

Number of Observations Read 210
Number of Observations Used 210

The GLM Procedure

Dependent Variable: y3
Sum of
Source DF Squares Mean Square F Value
Model 10 6.17918736 0.61791874 134.36
Error 199 0.91518322 0.00459891
Corrected Total 209 7.09437058

Source Pr > F
Model <.0001
Error
Corrected Total

R-Square Coeff Var Root MSE y3 Mean
0.870999 -16.88059 0.067815 -0.401735

Source DF Type I SS Mean Square F Value
Orientation 2 0.53410516 0.26705258 58.07
Material_Combination 1 4.31967482 4.31967482 939.28
x3 1 0.78723955 0.78723955 171.18
x 1 0.08728987 0.08728987 18.98
x3*Orientat*Material 5 0.45087795 0.09017559 19.61

Source Pr > F
Orientation <.0001
Material_Combination <.0001
x3 <.0001
x <.0001
x3*Orientat*Material <.0001

Source DF Type III SS Mean Square F Value
Orientation 2 0.09711957 0.04855979 10.56
Material_Combination 1 0.52906674 0.52906674 115.04
x3 1 0.45125425 0.45125425 98.12
x 1 0.08342778 0.08342778 18.14
x3*Orientat*Material 5 0.45087795 0.09017559 19.61

Source Pr > F
Orientation <.0001
Material_Combination <.0001
x3 <.0001
x <.0001
x3*Orientat*Material <.0001

-109-

Standard
Parameter Estimate Error t Value
Intercept -.1499945172 B 0.04380096 -3.42
Orientation 1 -.1342523657 B 0.04501753 -2.98
Orientation 2 -.2029989310 B 0.04501753 -4.51
Orientation 3 0.0000000000 B . .
Material_Combination 1 0.3954160209 B 0.03686604 10.73
Material_Combination 2 0.0000000000 B . .
x3 -.1792096345 B 0.02150605 -8.33
x 0.0000883487 0.00002074 4.26
x3*Orientat*Material 1 1 0.0501600042 B 0.02505086 2.00

Parameter Pr > |t|
Intercept 0.0007
Orientation 1 0.0032
Orientation 2 <.0001
Orientation 3 .
Material_Combination 1 <.0001
Material_Combination 2 .
x3 <.0001
x <.0001
x3*Orientat*Material 1 1 0.0466

The GLM Procedure
Standard
Parameter Estimate Error t Value
x3*Orientat*Material 3 1 -.0841658662 B 0.01678230 -5.02
x3*Orientat*Material 3 2 0.0000000000 B . .

Parameter Pr > |t|
x3*Orientat*Material 3 1 <.0001
x3*Orientat*Material 3 2 .

NOTE: The X'X matrix has been found to be singular, and a generalized
inverse was used to solve the normal equations. Terms whose
estimates are followed by the letter 'B' are not uniquely
estimable.
-110-

Plot of resid8*yhat8. Legend: A = 1 obs, B = 2 obs, etc.

resid8

0.20
A
A

0.15 A AA
A
A
A A A A
A A
0.10 A AA A
B A A A A
A A
A A A A A A A A
A B A
0.05 D B A BC A A A
A AA A AA A A A A
A CAA A A CAA A
A AA B A A A ABA A
A D A A B A
0.00 A AAA C A
D A A A B A A
A AAA BAA AA B B
A A A BA AA A
C AB A AAB A A A
-0.05 ABB AA A B A A A A
A A A A AA A A
A AA A A A A
B A A A A A A
A A A
-0.10 A A A A
A A A A
A
B A
A
-0.15 A A

-0.7 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0

yhat8
-111-

The UNIVARIATE Procedure
Variable: resid8
Moments
N 210 Sum Weights 210
Mean 0 Sum Observations 0
Std Deviation 0.06617301 Variance 0.00437887
Skewness 0.22525581 Kurtosis -0.1163466
Uncorrected SS 0.91518322 Corrected SS 0.91518322
Coeff Variation . Std Error Mean 0.00456637

Basic Statistical Measures
Location Variability
Mean 0.00000 Std Deviation 0.06617
Median -0.00250 Variance 0.00438
Mode -0.02963 Range 0.34095
Interquartile Range 0.09199

Tests for Location: Mu0=0
Test -Statistic- -----p Value------
Student's t t 0 Pr > |t| 1.0000
Sign M -3 Pr >= |M| 0.7302
Signed Rank S -275.5 Pr >= |S| 0.7555

Tests for Normality
Test --Statistic--- -----p Value------
Shapiro-Wilk W 0.993373 Pr < W 0.4714
Kolmogorov-Smirnov D 0.042515 Pr > D >0.1500
Cramer-von Mises W-Sq 0.057665 Pr > W-Sq >0.2500
Anderson-Darling A-Sq 0.337946 Pr > A-Sq >0.2500

Quantiles (Definition 5)
Quantile Estimate
100% Max 0.18973526
99% 0.15372204
95% 0.11689399
90% 0.08794163
75% Q3 0.04498097
50% Median -0.00249597
25% Q1 -0.04701096
10% -0.08154204
5% -0.10513642
1% -0.13710322
0% Min -0.15121120

Extreme Observations

------Lowest------ ------Highest-----

Value Obs Value Obs

-0.151211 105 0.147689 18
-0.148265 49 0.149581 185
-0.137103 178 0.153722 19
-0.133042 210 0.180071 118
-0.129082 4 0.189735 91

-112-
The UNIVARIATE Procedure
Variable: resid8

Stem Leaf # Boxplot
18 00 2 0
16 |
14 3804 4 |
12 142 3 |
10 1338477 7 |
8 036782458 9 |
6 00078012235 11 |
4 000455566788991111456 21 +-----+
2 002247788890011223469999 24 | |
0 113689111233466777899 21 | + |
-0 997665443300009733210 21 *-----*
-2 98866542110007444431000 23 | |
-4 76655211000088765443322100 26 +-----+
-6 9876542886642200 16 |
-8 3293321 7 |
-10 42652210 8 |
-12 73990 5 |
-14 18 2 |
----+----+----+----+----+-
Multiply Stem.Leaf by 10**-2

Normal Probability Plot
0.19+ **
| +
| ****++
| ***++
| ****+
| ***+
| ***
| *****
| ****
| ****
| +***
| +****
| *****
| ****
| +**
| ****
| ****
-0.15+**++
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
-2 -1 0 +1 +2

-113-
APPENDIX B

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF UHMW AND HDPE

Poisson's ratio (Coil 2007a):
UHMW - 0.46
HDPE - 0.38.

Table B1: Mechanical properties of UHMW(Coil 2007a).
English Units SI Units
Mechanical
1
Tensile Strength @ Yield D638 3 600 psi 25Mpa
Elongation @ break D638 700% 700%
Flexural modulus D790 155 000 psi 1070 Mpa
Tensile impact strength D1822 120 ft-lb/in2 25 J /cm2
Tensile impact @ -40C D1822 110 ft-lb/in2 25 J /cm2
ESCR, F50 (a) D1693 >800 hr >800 hr
Brittleness temperature D746 <-76C <-105F
Hardness shore D D2240 68 68
Thermal
Vicat softening temperature D1525 123C 254F
Heat deflection temp., 66psi D746 <69C <157F
1
23 degrees C, 50% relative humidity unless noted
**Product properties represent average laboratory values and are intended as a guide line. Final testing is the responsibility of the end
user.
Typical Values
ASTM (1) UHMW Product Properties:

Table B2: Mechanical properties of HDPE(Coil 2007a).
English Units SI Units
Mechanical
1
Density D792
0.930 - 0.940 g/cm
3
Tensile Strength @ Yield D638 2 900 - 3 400 psi 20 - 23 Mpa
Elongation @ break D638 300 - 450 % 300 - 450 %
Flexural modulus D790 100 000 - 150 000 psi 689 - 1 033 Mpa
Hardness shore D D2240 64 - 66 64 - 66
1
23 degrees C, 50% relative humidity unless noted
HDPE Product Properties: ASTM (1)
Typical Values
**Product properties represent average laboratory values and are intended as a guide line. Final testing is the responsibility of the end
user.

-114-
APPENDIX C
BLENDER DRAWINGS PROVIDED BY COIL MANUFACTURING

Figure C1: Schematic of blender layout and atomizer spray patter (Coil 2007b).
R
e
s
i
n
a
t
i
n
g

r
e
g
i
o
n

b
e
i
n
g

c
o
n
s
i
d
e
r
e
d

-115-
For the purposes of this project only the horizontal spray pattern will be considered. The
diagonal spray pattern is a relatively recent option and is not currently present in many
existing industrial operations. In addition, the EDEM software package is unable to restrict
particle tracking to a diagonal region. As a result, computing and software constraints would
quickly be reached if the diagonal spray pattern was considered.

-116-
APPENDIX D

WRITE-OUT EVERY TIME INTERVAL CALCULATION

In discrete element modeling the frequency that the particle position and velocity are
calculated is referred to as the time-step, t. Because these values are extremely small, for
example in the neighborhood of 4x10
-5
seconds, data is typically recorded for future analysis
using a considerably larger interval. This interval is referred to as the write-out every
interval, t
w
, in the software package.

The write-out every interval refers to how frequently the simulator records data for analysis
purposes. This is not related to the time-step used in the simulator in any way except for that
it must be equal to or larger than the time-step used in the simulator. The write-out every
interval begins when the simulation starts; however, only the write-out every intervals that
occur within the resination region are considered. The selected interval may directly affect
the simulation time; therefore, it is important to select a reasonable value.

When selecting the write-out every time interval one must be aware of the process and the
desired information. For instance, in this particular problem, where the objective is to record
the x-position, velocity, and ID of the particles as they pass through the resinating region, the
write-out every time interval must be small enough to capture this information while the
particles are in the resinating region.
Figure D1 shows an example of a situation where a particle passes through the resinating
region but the write-out every interval is set too large, resulting in the exported data
suggesting that the particle did not spend any time in the resinating region.

-117-

Figure D1: Schematic of an example where the write-out time interval is set too large.

An appropriate write-out every time interval was determined for this problem based on
kinematic equations for motion in a straight line under constant acceleration (Equation D2)
(Serway 2000, 1551). Assuming an object is dropped from the highest point in the blender,
A, and allowed to fall through the diameter of the blender until is collides with the bottom of
the drum, D, under constant acceleration, an extreme scenario, is shown in Figure D2.

2
2
1
t a t v x x
x xi i f
+ = [D1]

( ) t x x x
a
t
xi i f
=
2
[D2]
where:
x is the position in meters,
t is the time in seconds,
v
xi
is the initial velocity, and
a is the acceleration, assumed to be 9.81m/s
2
.
Measurement at t

Measurement at
t + t
w

Resinating region

Blender drum

Path of object

Measurement at t = 0

-118-

Figure D2: Schematic of the extreme case scenario where an object falls from the top of the
blender, A, through the resination region, B to C, and collides with the bottom of the blender,
D.

In this case, the total time spent in the resinating region is 0.066 seconds. Therefore, the
write-out every time interval must be less than 0.066 seconds. However, because the time
spent in the region will be estimated based partly on the write-out every time interval
(Equation D3), its impact on the accuracy of the estimated time must also be considered. As a
result the range in accuracy was tested for a proposed write-out every time interval of 0.01
seconds.

w t RR
t x t =
[D3]

where:
RR
t
is the estimated time spent in the resinating region,

x
t
is the number of write-out every time intervals that occurs in
the resinating region, and
w
t is the write-out every time interval.

One of two scenarios will result in the largest underestimation of the actual time spent in the
resination region. First, when a write-out time interval is less, for example 1%, than a full t
w

inside the top of the region (Figure D3). And second, when a write-out time interval is less
than a full t
w
inside the bottom of the region (Figure D4). In this analysis both scenarios
result in the discrete element modeling software recording 6 write-out every intervals while
B

C

Resinating region

Blender drum

Path of object

A

D

-119-
the particle is in the resinating region. The estimated time spent in the resinating region is
therefore 0.06 seconds, or 91% of the actual time.

relative to the top of the blender, when the first interval is located marginally less than one
full t
w
from the top of the region.

relative to the top of the blender, when the last interval is located marginally less than one
full t
w
from the bottom of the region.

Similarly, one of two scenarios will result in the largest overestimation of the actual time
spent in the resination region. First, when a write-out every time interval is marginally below
the top of the region (Figure D5). And second, when a write-out every time interval is
marginally above the bottom of the region (Figure D6). In this analysis both scenarios result
in the discrete element modeling software recording 7 write-out every intervals while the
particle is in the resinating region. The estimated time in the resinating region is therefore
0.07 seconds, or 106% of the actual time.
A: 0.814 m
B: 0.854 m
C: 0.896 m
D: 0.938 m
E: 0.981 m
F: 1.026 m
A: 0.799 m
B: 0.839 m
C: 0.880 m
D: 0.923 m
E: 0.966 m
F: 1.010 m
0.775 m
1.054 m
0.775 m
1.054 m
Path of
particle
Path of
particle
Blender
Blender
Resinating
region
Resinating
region
0.99 t
w

0.99 t
w

-120-

relative to the top of the blender, when the first interval is located marginally below the top
of the region.

relative to the top of the blender, when the last interval is located marginally above the
bottom of the region.

It can therefore be concluded that under these idealized assumptions, the estimated time a
particle spends inside the resinating region will be between 91% and 106% of the actual time.
A write-out time interval, t
w
,

0.01 produces reasonably accurate results for the purposes of
this project. In reality, the particles will be replaced by strands, most of which will fall
through the resinating region along a parabolic path resulting in a larger fraction of their time
in the region accounted for.

A: 0.775 m
B: 0.815 m
C: 0.855 m
D: 0.896 m
E: 0.939 m
F: 0.982 m
G: 1.027 m
A: 0.799 m
B: 0.839 m
C: 0.880 m
D: 0.922 m
E: 0.965 m
F: 1.009 m
G; 1.054 m
0.775 m
1.054 m
0.775 m
1.054 m
Blender
Path of
particle
Path of
particle
Blender
Resinating
region
Resinating
region
0.01 t
w

0.01 t
w

-121-
APPENDIX E

VBA MACRO FOR SORTING, FILTERING,
AND ANALYSING EDEM DATA

Option Explicit

Public Sub Histogram_And_Commulative_Graph()

Application.ScreenUpdating = False

Dim tmpSng As Single
Dim aRow_SD As Long
Dim aRow_RD As Long
Dim aColumn_RD As Integer
Dim aColumn_SD As Integer
Dim aRow_CD As Long
Dim aColumn_TD As Integer
Dim aRow_TD As Integer
Dim NumOfTrackedParticles As Integer
Dim NumOfTrackedParticlesB As Integer

Dim LowerTimeRange As Single
Dim UpperTimeRange As Single

Dim LowerRow_SD As Long
Dim UpperRow_SD As Long
Dim LowerTimeConst As Single
Dim UpperTimeConst As Single
Dim LengthofSimulationRecorded As Single
Dim BinSizeCummDist As Single
Dim NumBinsCummDist As Single
Dim DrumDiameter As Single
Dim DrumRadius As Single
Dim BinSizeHist As Single

DrumDiameter = 1632 '(mm) MUST BE SET!!!!
DrumRadius = DrumDiameter / 2
BinSizeHist = 102 '(mm) MUST BE SET!!!!

'Set bin size for cummulative distribution graph
BinSizeCummDist = 0.5 'MUST BE SET!!!!

'Set time constraints for analysis
'Should be based on specific number of runs under steady-state
LowerTimeConst = 4.71 'MUST BE SET!!!!
UpperTimeConst = 23.53 'MUST BE SET!!!!

'Set number of tracked particles
NumOfTrackedParticles = 150 'MUST BE SET!!!!
NumOfTrackedParticlesB = NumOfTrackedParticles + 1

tmpSng = Timer

'rename raw data worksheet
ActiveSheet.Name = "raw_data"

-122-
'add new worksheet "sorted_data"
Worksheets.Add(After:=Worksheets("raw_data")).Name = "sorted_data"

'Find Particle ID's
aRow_SD = 1
For aRow_RD = 1 To xlLastRow("raw_data") / 2 'divided by two to avoid overloading
'Excel with data causing it to crash
If Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD, 1).Value = "TIME:" Then

'Transfers x-positions
For aColumn_RD = 2 To xlLastCol("raw_data")
If Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD + 1, aColumn_RD).Value <> "no data" Then
If Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD + 1, aColumn_RD).Value <> "" Then
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(aRow_SD, 1).Value = Worksheets("raw_data") _
.Cells(aRow_RD + 1, aColumn_RD).Value
aRow_SD = aRow_SD + 1
End If
End If

Next aColumn_RD
aColumn_RD = 2
End If
Next aRow_RD

'remove duplicate particle ID's and sort data
Dim x As Long

For x = xlLastRow("sorted_data") To 1 Step -1
If Application.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(Range("A1:A" & x), Range("A" & x).Text) > 1 Then
Range("A" & x).EntireRow.Delete
End If
Next x

Range("A1:A30000").Select
Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("A1"), Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlGuess, _
OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom, _
DataOption1:=xlSortNormal

'transpose data
Worksheets("sorted_data").Range("$A$1:$A$250").Copy
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(2, 2).PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteAll, Operation:=xlNone, SkipBlanks:= _
False, Transpose:=True
Worksheets("sorted_data").Range("$A$1:$A$250").Clear

'Transfer times
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(2, 1) = "TIME"
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(1, 1) = "First Ent.:"

aRow_SD = 3
For aRow_RD = 1 To xlLastRow("raw_data")

If Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD, 1).Value = "TIME:" Then
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(aRow_SD, 1).Value = Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD, 2).Value
LowerTimeRange = Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(3, 1)

'Transfer x-positions
For aColumn_RD = 2 To xlLastCol("raw_data")
For aColumn_SD = 2 To NumOfTrackedParticlesB

-123-
If Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD + 1, aColumn_RD).Value = Worksheets("sorted_data") _
.Cells(2, aColumn_SD).Value Then
'Lookup if particle velocity is negative (moving downward) and includes it in the analysis if it is
If Worksheets("raw_data").Cells(aRow_RD + 3, aColumn_RD).Value <= 0 Then
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(aRow_SD, aColumn_SD).Value = Worksheets("raw_data") _
.Cells(aRow_RD + 2, aColumn_RD).Value
End If
End If

Next aColumn_SD
Next aColumn_RD

aColumn_RD = 2
aColumn_SD = 2
End If
Next aRow_RD

'Look-up first time when strands enter resination region for cummulative distribution graph
aColumn_SD = 2
Do While Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(2, aColumn_SD) <> ""
aRow_SD = 3
Do While Cells(aRow_SD, aColumn_SD) = ""
Loop
Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(1, aColumn_SD) = Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(aRow_SD, 1)
aColumn_SD = aColumn_SD + 1
Loop

'String columns of data together
'add new worksheet "tmp_data"
Worksheets.Add(After:=Worksheets("sorted_data")).Name = "tmp_data"

'Lookup rows that correspond to time constraints
LowerRow_SD = 3
'If LowerTimeConst = 0 Then LowerRow_SD = 3 Else
Do While Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(LowerRow_SD, 1) < LowerTimeConst
LowerRow_SD = LowerRow_SD + 1
Loop
'End If

UpperRow_SD = 3
Do While Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(UpperRow_SD, 1) < UpperTimeConst
UpperRow_SD = UpperRow_SD + 1
Loop

If UpperTimeConst <> Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(xlLastRow("sorted_data"), 1) _
Then UpperRow_SD = UpperRow_SD - 1

'transfer data to tmp_data
Worksheets("sorted_data").Range("$B$" & LowerRow_SD & ":$IV$" & UpperRow_SD).Copy _
Destination:=Worksheets("tmp_data").Cells(1, 1)

'remove empty cells and shift left
Worksheets("tmp_data").Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(xlLastRow("tmp_data"), NumOfTrackedParticlesB)) _
.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeBlanks).Delete Shift:=xlToLeft
'remove empty cells and shift up
Worksheets("tmp_data").Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(xlLastRow("tmp_data"), NumOfTrackedParticlesB)) _
.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeBlanks).Delete Shift:=xlUp
-124-

'add new worksheet "compiled_data"
Worksheets.Add(After:=Worksheets("tmp_data")).Name = "compiled_data"

'Transfer x-positions
aRow_CD = 1

For aColumn_TD = 1 To xlLastCol("tmp_data")
For aRow_TD = 1 To xlLastRow("tmp_data")

If Worksheets("tmp_data").Cells(aRow_TD, aColumn_TD).Value <> "" Then
Worksheets("compiled_data").Cells(aRow_CD, 1).Value = Worksheets("tmp_data") _
.Cells(aRow_TD, aColumn_TD).Value
aRow_CD = aRow_CD + 1
End If

Next aRow_TD
Next aColumn_TD

'Worksheets("tmp_data").Delete

' Make a histogram from the selected values.
' The top value is used as the histogram's title.
Dim selected_range As Range
Dim title As String
Dim r As Integer
Dim score_cell As Range
Dim num_scores As Integer
Dim count_range As Range
Dim new_chart As Chart

Dim Data_Range As Range
Set Data_Range = Worksheets("compiled_data").Range(Cells(1, 1), Cells(65536, 1))

Worksheets.Add(After:=Worksheets("compiled_data")).Name = "Histogram"

Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(2, 2) = "HISTOGRAM"
Worksheets("Histogram").Range("B2:B2").Select
With Selection
.HorizontalAlignment = xlLeft
.Font.Bold = True
End With

' See how many bins we will have.

Dim num_bins As Integer
num_bins = DrumDiameter / BinSizeHist

' Make the bin separators.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(3, 2) = "Bins"
For r = 1 To num_bins - 1
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 3, 2) = -DrumRadius + r * BinSizeHist - 0.1
Next r

r = num_bins '+ 1
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 3, 2) = -DrumRadius + r * BinSizeHist

' Make the counts.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(3, 3) = "Counts"
-125-
Set count_range = Worksheets("Histogram").Range("C4:C" & num_bins + 3)
count_range.FormulaArray = "=Frequency(sorted_data!B$" & LowerRow_SD & ":$IV$" & _
UpperRow_SD & ", B4:B" & num_bins + 3 & ")"

' Make the range labels.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(3, 4) = "Ranges"
For r = 1 To num_bins - 1
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 3, 4) = "'" & _
-DrumRadius + BinSizeHist * (r - 1) & " to " & _
-DrumRadius + BinSizeHist * (r - 1) + BinSizeHist - 0.1
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 3, 4).HorizontalAlignment = _
xlRight
Next r
r = num_bins '+ 1
-DrumRadius + BinSizeHist * (r - 1) & " to " & DrumRadius
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 3, 4).HorizontalAlignment = xlRight

' Make the chart.
Set new_chart = Charts.Add()
With new_chart
.ChartType = xlColumnClustered
.SetSourceData Source:=Worksheets("Histogram").Range("C4:C" & _
num_bins + 3), _
PlotBy:=xlColumns
.Location Where:=xlLocationAsObject, _
Name:=Worksheets("Histogram").Name
End With

' Format chart
With ActiveChart
.HasTitle = True
.ChartTitle.Characters.Text = ActiveWorkbook.Name
.Axes(xlCategory, xlPrimary).HasTitle = True
.Axes(xlCategory, _
xlPrimary).AxisTitle.Characters.Text = "Scores"
.Axes(xlValue, xlPrimary).HasTitle = True
.Axes(xlValue, xlPrimary).AxisTitle.Characters.Text _
= "Count"

' Display score ranges on the X axis.
.SeriesCollection(1).XValues = "='" & _
Worksheets("Histogram").Name & "'!R4C4:R" & _
num_bins + 3 & "C4"
End With
With ActiveChart.Axes(xlCategory)
.HasMajorGridlines = False
.HasMinorGridlines = False
End With
With ActiveChart.Axes(xlValue)
End With
ActiveChart.HasLegend = False
With ActiveChart.PlotArea.Border
.ColorIndex = 16
.Weight = xlThin
.LineStyle = xlContinuous
End With
-126-
With ActiveChart.PlotArea.Interior
.ColorIndex = 2
.PatternColorIndex = 1
.Pattern = xlSolid
End With
With ActiveSheet.ChartObjects(1)
.Width = 500
.Height = 300
.Left = 400
.Top = 100
End With
With ActiveChart.Axes(xlCategory).TickLabels
.Alignment = xlCenter
.Offset = 100
.ReadingOrder = xlContext
.Orientation = 45
End With
ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(1).Select
With ActiveChart.ChartGroups(1)
.Overlap = 0
.GapWidth = 0
.HasSeriesLines = False
.VaryByCategories = False
End With

' Place Skewness and Kurtosis titles
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(3, 7) = "Statistics"

Range("G3:H3", "B3:D3").Select
With Selection
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
.Font.Bold = True
End With
Range("G3:H3").Merge

Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(4, 7) = "Average"
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(5, 7) = "Std Dev"
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(6, 7) = "Skewness"
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(7, 7) = "Kurtosis"
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(8, 7) = "Count"

' Calculate Skewness and Kurtosis
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(4, 8) = Application.Average(Data_Range)
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(5, 8) = Application.StDev(Data_Range)
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(6, 8) = Application.Skew(Data_Range)
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(7, 8) = Application.Kurt(Data_Range)
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(8, 8) = Application.Count(Data_Range)

'Cummulative frequency chart
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(36, 2) = "CUMMULATIVE FREQUENCY GRAPH"
Worksheets("Histogram").Range("B36:B36").Select
With Selection
.HorizontalAlignment = xlLeft
.Font.Bold = True
End With

' See how many bins we will have.
LengthofSimulationRecorded = Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(xlLastRow("sorted_data"), 1) _
-127-
- Worksheets("sorted_data").Cells(3, 1)

NumBinsCummDist = LengthofSimulationRecorded / BinSizeCummDist

' Make the bin separators.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(37, 2) = "Bins"
For r = 1 To (NumBinsCummDist - 1)
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 2) = r * BinSizeCummDist + LowerTimeRange - 0.01
Next r

r = NumBinsCummDist
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 2) = r * BinSizeCummDist + LowerTimeRange

' Make the counts.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(37, 3) = "Counts"
Set count_range = Worksheets("Histogram").Range("C38:C" & NumBinsCummDist + 37)
count_range.FormulaArray = "=Frequency(sorted_data!B1:IV1, B38:B" & _
NumBinsCummDist + 37 & ")"

' Make the range labels.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(37, 6) = "Ranges"
For r = 1 To NumBinsCummDist - 1
BinSizeCummDist * (r - 1) + LowerTimeRange & " to " & _
BinSizeCummDist * (r - 1) + BinSizeCummDist + LowerTimeRange - 0.01
xlRight
Next r
r = NumBinsCummDist
BinSizeCummDist * (r - 1) + LowerTimeRange & " to 20"
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 6).HorizontalAlignment = xlRight

' Calculate cummulative values.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(37, 4) = "Cumm."
r = 1
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 4) = Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 3)
xlRight

For r = 2 To NumBinsCummDist
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 4) = Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 3) + _
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37 - 1, 4)
xlRight
Next r

' Calculate cummulative percentages.
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(37, 5) = "Cumm.Per."
For r = 1 To NumBinsCummDist
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 5) = Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 4) / _
(NumOfTrackedParticlesB - 1)
xlRight
Worksheets("Histogram").Cells(r + 37, 5).NumberFormat = "0.0%"
Next r

Range("B37:F37").Select
With Selection
-128-
.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
.Font.Bold = True
End With

' Make the chart.
Set new_chart = Charts.Add
With new_chart
.ChartType = xlLine
.SetSourceData Source:=Worksheets("Histogram").Range("E38:E" & _
NumBinsCummDist + 37), PlotBy:=xlColumns
.Location Where:=xlLocationAsObject, _
Name:=Worksheets("Histogram").Name
End With

' Format chart
With ActiveChart
.HasTitle = True
.ChartTitle.Characters.Text = ActiveWorkbook.Name & " - Cummulative Distribution"
.Axes(xlCategory, xlPrimary).HasTitle = True
.Axes(xlCategory, _
xlPrimary).AxisTitle.Characters.Text = "Time (seconds)"
.Axes(xlValue, xlPrimary).HasTitle = True
.Axes(xlValue, xlPrimary).AxisTitle.Characters.Text _
= "Commulative Percent"

' Display time ranges on the X axis.
.SeriesCollection(1).XValues = "='" & _
Worksheets("Histogram").Name & "'!R38C6:R" & NumBinsCummDist + 37 & "C6"
End With
With ActiveChart.Axes(xlCategory)
End With
With ActiveChart.Axes(xlValue)
End With
ActiveChart.HasLegend = False
With ActiveChart.PlotArea.Border
.ColorIndex = 16
.Weight = xlThin
.LineStyle = xlContinuous
End With
With ActiveChart.PlotArea.Interior
.ColorIndex = 2
.PatternColorIndex = 1
.Pattern = xlSolid
End With
With ActiveSheet.ChartObjects(2)
.Width = 500
.Height = 300
.Left = 400
.Top = 450
End With
With ActiveChart.Axes(xlCategory).TickLabels
.Alignment = xlCenter
.Offset = 100
.ReadingOrder = xlContext
.Orientation = 45
-129-
End With
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
MsgBox "Total processing time:" & Round((Timer - tmpSng) / 60, 5) & " minutes"
End Sub

'Find the last populated row in a specified worksheet
Function xlLastRow(Optional WorksheetName As String) As Long

With Worksheets(WorksheetName)
On Error Resume Next
xlLastRow = .Cells.Find("*", .Cells(1), xlFormulas, _
xlWhole, xlByRows, xlPrevious).Row
If Err <> 0 Then xlLastRow = 0
End With

End Function

'Find the first populated row in a specified worksheet
Function xlFirstRow(Optional WorksheetName As String) As Long

xlFirstRow = .Cells.Find("*", .Cells(.Cells.Count), xlFormulas, _
xlWhole, xlByRows, xlNext).Row
If Err <> 0 Then xlFirstRow = 0
End With

End Function

'Find the last populated column in a specified worksheet
Function xlLastCol(Optional WorksheetName As String) As Long

xlLastCol = .Cells.Find("*", .Cells(1), xlFormulas, _
xlWhole, xlByColumns, xlPrevious).Column
If Err <> 0 Then xlLastCol = 0
End With

End Function

-130-
APPENDIX F

MACRO FOR PERFORMING THE GRAYSCALE
ANALYSIS IN IMAGE PRO PLUS

Option Explicit
Sub setLineProfile()
ret = IpProfCreate()
ret = IpProfLineMove(133, 205, 503, 268) ' opens line analysis operation
ret = IpProfSetAttr(LINETYPE, THICKHORZ) ' sets the line analysis operation to "Thick
Horizontal"
ret = IpProfLineMove(133, 205, 503, 268) ' positions the horizontal lines
End Sub

Sub analyzeImagesUsingLineProfile()

Dim id As Integer
For id = 0 To 1800 Step 3 ' cycles through images labelled 0 to 1800, skipping to every 3rd
Dim FileName As String
' set file location and name
FileName = "C:\Documents And Settings\gdick\My Documents\My Videos\January 31 2008 Lab
Blender\Baseline\BW Images\Baseline ("
ret = IpWsLoad(FileName & id &").tif","tif")
Call setLineProfile()
ret = IpProfSave("", S_DDE+S_DATA+S_HEADER+S_LEGEND+S_X_AXIS+S_COORDS)
ret = IpProfSelect(0)
ret = IpProfDestroy()
ret = IpDocClose()
ret = IpAnShow(0)

' run Excel macro
Dim exl As Object
Set exl = Get_Excel_Object
exl.Application.Run "ImageDataCompTMP.xls!AddWorksheet"

Next id
exl.Application.Run "ImageDataCompTMP.xls!deleteWorksheet"

End Sub

' This function tries to find a running
' instance of Excel. If it can't find one
' it starts one:

Function Get_Excel_Object() As Object
Dim exl As Object

' GetObject will fail if Excel is not running.
On Error GoTo start_excel
Set exl = GetObject(,"Excel.Application")
On Error GoTo 0
GoTo excel_running

-131-
start_excel:
' Start Excel via CreateObject. If this
' fails, we exit the macro.
On Error GoTo error_excel

Set exl = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
exl.Visible = True
exl.Workbooks.Add

excel_running:
Set Get_Excel_Object = exl
Exit Function
error_excel:
MsgBox "Can't find Excel"
End Function

-132-
APPENDIX G

ANOVA RESULTS FOR THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ASPEN STRANDS

Table G1: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the skewness of
the resulting histogram.
Source DF SS MS F Pr >F
Shear Modulus 1 0.003553 0.003553 2.156907 0.380567
Poissons Ratio 1 0.002061 0.002061 1.250968 0.464437
Density 1 0.002278 0.002278 1.382878 0.448632
Shear Modulus x Poissons Ratio 1 0.001431 0.001431 0.868728 0.522379
Shear Modulus x Density 1 0.00009 0.00009 0.054499 0.853996
Poissons Ratio x Density 1 0.028489 0.028489 17.29343 0.150235
Model 6 0.037902 0.006317 3.834568 0.37218
Error 1 0.001647 0.001647
Total 7 0.039549

Table G2: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the kurtosis of the
resulting histogram.
Shear Modulus 1 0.000099 0.000099 0.459528 0.620747
Poissons Ratio 1 0.001225 0.001225 5.663485 0.253247
Density 1 0.00005 0.00005 0.231139 0.714702
Model 6 0.010843 0.001807 8.354182 0.258832
Error 1 0.000216 0.000216
Total 7 0.011059

Table G3: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the count of the
Shear Modulus 1 13612.5 13612.5 0.412194 0.636651
Poissons Ratio 1 221112.5 221112.5 6.695408 0.234776
Density 1 95484.5 95484.5 2.891323 0.338442
Shear Modulus x Poissons Ratio 1 18 18 0.000545 0.98514
Shear Modulus x Density 1 13122 13122 0.397341 0.641941
Poissons Ratio x Density 1 693842 693842 21.00992 0.136746
Model 6 1037192 172865.3 5.234455 0.322657
Error 1 33024.5 33024.5
Total 7 1070216

-133-
Table G4: ANOVA results for the impact the material properties have on the processing
time of the respective simulation.
Shear Modulus 1 578.6802 578.6802 2057.53 0.014033
Poissons Ratio 1 2.53125 2.53125 9 0.204833
Density 1 378.6752 378.6752 1346.401 0.017345
Model 6 1066.184 177.6974 631.8129 0.030444
Error 1 0.28125 0.28125
Total 7 1066.466

-134-
APPENDIX H

ANOVA RESULTS FOR THE INTERACTION PROPERTIES OF ASPEN STRANDS
AND POLYETHYLENE

Table H1: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the skewness of
CORestitution 1 0.006682 0.006682 29.6063 0.115709
CRFriction 1 2.74742 2.74742 12172.26 0.00577
CSFriction 1 0.699944 0.699944 3101.054 0.011431
CORestitution x CRFriction 1 0.009709 0.009709 43.01392 0.096326
CORestitution x CSFriction 1 0.000999 0.000999 4.425826 0.282484
CRFriction x CSFriction 1 0.151027 0.151027 669.1154 0.024599
Model 6 3.615781 0.60263 2669.912 0.014813
Error 1 0.000226 0.000226
Total 7 3.616007

Table H2: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the kurtosis of
CORestitution 1 5.51E-06 5.51E-06 0.000172 0.991647
CRFriction 1 1.991802 1.991802 62.2212 0.080279
CSFriction 1 1.410029 1.410029 44.04739 0.095206
CORestitution x CSFriction 1 5.01E-06 5.01E-06 0.000156 0.992039
Model 6 5.010942 0.835157 26.08918 0.148756
Error 1 0.032012 0.032012
Total 7 5.042954

Table H3: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the count of the
CORestitution 1 611065.1 611065.1 32.98041 0.109754
CRFriction 1 11710380 11710380 632.0327 0.025309
CSFriction 1 2185095 2185095 117.934 0.058457
Model 6 15144118 2524020 136.2264 0.06549
Error 1 18528.13 18528.13
Total 7 15162646

-135-
Table H4: ANOVA results for the impact the interaction properties have on the processing
time of the respective simulation.
CORestitution 1 0.001513 0.001513 1 0.5
CRFriction 1 0.070312 0.070312 46.4876 0.09271
CSFriction 1 0.838512 0.838512 554.3884 0.027022
CRFriction x CSFriction 1 0.074112 0.074112 49 0.090334
Model 6 0.989375 0.164896 109.022 0.07318
Error 1 0.001513 0.001513
Total 7 0.990888

-136-
APPENDIX I

RESULTS FROM STUDENT T-TEST FOR SHOULDER AND TOE ANGLES

Table I1: Student t-test for two sample means assuming unequal variance for the shoulder
and toe angles in Run 4 and the laboratory results ran at 15.5 RPM.
Mean 40.37 38.93 257.97 258.97
Variance 52.79 37.79 11.90 22.93
P(T t) two-tail 0.413 0.358

Table I2: Student t-test for two sample means assuming unequal variance for the shoulder
and toe angles in Run 4 and the laboratory results ran at 25.5 RPM.
Mean 67.03 63.13 217.93 227.43
Variance 42.24 19.64 67.65 39.77
P(T t) two-tail 0.009 5.960 E -6

-137-
APPENDIX J

RESULTS FROM THE EXPLORATORY STUDY WITHOUT AND WITH AN
ATOMIZER BOOM

Table J1: Results from exploratory study without an atomizer boom.
Run # of Flights Flight height Fill level RPM Skewness Kurtosis Count
1 4 2 1/8 23.39 -2.796074 10.57709 14261
2 4 6 1/8 23.39 0.181865 -1.003007 16046
3 16 2 1/8 23.39 -0.411452 -0.432711 19656
4 16 6 1/8 23.39 1.055151 0.157969 13356
5 8 4 1/16 18.71 -0.343624 -0.724349 24282
6 8 4 1/16 28.07 1.1601 0.175024 11068
7 8 4 1/4 18.71 -0.773404 0.022419 26218
8 8 4 1/4 28.07 0.16858 -1.073637 14726
9 4 4 1/8 18.71 -0.710635 0.990473 25525
10 4 4 1/8 28.07 0.171931 -1.090594 13541
11 16 4 1/8 18.71 0.067189 -0.990335 21693
12 16 4 1/8 28.07 1.166465 0.8005 11497
13 8 2 1/16 23.39 -1.665463 3.232918 26819
14 8 2 1/4 23.39 -1.093679 2.099582 22917
15 8 6 1/16 23.39 1.336239 0.894518 12610
16 8 6 1/4 23.39 -0.020098 -1.059842 17494
17 4 4 1/16 23.39 -0.046351 -0.824065 16558
18 4 4 1/4 23.39 -1.064182 1.452961 21355
19 16 4 1/16 23.39 0.742821 -0.565052 13758
20 16 4 1/4 23.39 -0.178404 -1.142662 18609
21 8 2 1/8 18.71 -1.213237 2.456989 29897
22 8 2 1/8 28.07 -1.123317 0.773495 19346
23 8 6 1/8 18.71 0.149338 -0.887824 21209
24 8 6 1/8 28.07 1.192715 0.594237 11720
25 8 4 1/8 23.39 -0.107397 -0.533136 17952
26 8 4 1/8 23.39 -0.301508 -0.484515 18770
27 8 4 1/8 23.39 -0.156009 -0.852739 18410

-138-
Table J2: Results from exploratory study with an atomizer boom.
Run # of Flights Flight height Fill level RPM Skewness Kurtosis Count
1 4 2 1/8 23.39 -2.753631 10.27182 17414
2 4 6 1/8 23.39 -0.544805 -0.912654 15773
3 16 2 1/8 23.39 -1.456965 2.43358 22188
4 16 6 1/8 23.39 0.500032 -1.177029 14287
5 8 4 1/16 18.71 -0.493197 0.475805 25009
6 8 4 1/16 28.07 1.127426 0.109028 11052
7 8 4 1/4 18.71 -1.617404 2.214585 26383
8 8 4 1/4 28.07 -0.098553 -1.577502 14992
9 4 4 1/8 18.71 -0.691708 1.882807 25275
10 4 4 1/8 28.07 -0.915169 -0.227513 15823
11 16 4 1/8 18.71 -1.232934 2.204677 24619
12 16 4 1/8 28.07 0.683892 -1.002647 12391
13 8 2 1/16 23.39 -1.541192 3.088706 25728
14 8 2 1/4 23.39 -1.520084 3.775611 23605
15 8 6 1/16 23.39 0.96552 -0.37011 13005
16 8 6 1/4 23.39 -0.435279 -1.347452 18236
17 4 4 1/16 23.39 -0.86338 0.100537 17349
18 4 4 1/4 23.39 -1.50092 1.824392 21616
19 16 4 1/16 23.39 0.427871 -1.184065 14658
20 16 4 1/4 23.39 -0.600083 -1.133607 19818
21 8 2 1/8 18.71 -1.229002 3.385995 28478
22 8 2 1/8 28.07 -1.830354 3.381662 20421
23 8 6 1/8 18.71 -1.536919 2.754155 22487
24 8 6 1/8 28.07 0.721061 -0.920876 12542
25 8 4 1/8 23.39 -0.987434 0.148008 19596
26 8 4 1/8 23.39 -0.973097 0.04603 18870
27 8 4 1/8 23.39 -0.877569 -0.298419 19043

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DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF A DISCRETE ELEMENT MODEL FOR

SIMULATING THE BULK STRAND FLOW IN A ROTARY DRUM BLENDER

is the estimated time spent in the resinating region,

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