Dust resuspension from the splash of a falling powder: A numerical aerodynamic simulation of a pellet falling onto a powder monolayer

A falling powder can generate a dust cloud from its interaction with the ambient air and from its splash onto a substrate. This article reports the results of a numerical simulation study, which attempts to model this second process. We argue that the dust cloud arises from the aerodynamic resuspension of previously deposited small particles. The agglomerated falling powder is modeled as a falling pellet disk impacting a surface covered with a monolayer of previously deposited particles. The Reynolds number of the air flow in the vicinity of the impacting pellet is Re ~ 1860, so the air flow is modeled as laminar and incompressible. The dust particles are incorporated <i>via</i> a Lagrangian multiphase treatment. The sudden deceleration of the disk sheds an aerodynamic vortex, which suspends particles from the monolayer. Characteristics of the dust cloud (average and maximum height and radius) are tracked; these are conveniently summarized by following the trajectory of the dust cloud centroid. The probability of aerosolization decreases with distance from the impacted pellet. The centroid trajectory is studied as a function of dust particle size. The model is relatively insensitive to disk radius and thickness. More realistic modeling of dust clouds generated by the splash of falling powders will require a statistical analysis of aggregate size and location, as well as the inclusion of interparticle and particle-surface interactions.