Ranked percolation model for the caking time of amorphous molecular powders

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Braz, Vasco C., Araújo, Nuno A. M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Braz, Vasco C.
Araújo, Nuno A. M.
author_facet Braz, Vasco C.
Araújo, Nuno A. M.
contents When amorphous molecular powders are exposed to high humidity levels or temperatures, the particle viscosity increases due to plasticization, promoting the formation of sinter bridges between pairs of particles in contact. Over time, these bridges facilitate particle agglomeration, eventually leading to the formation of a macroscopic cake that alters the mechanical properties and affects product quality. In this work, we model the caking process of amorphous powders subjected to a temperature shock as a bond percolation problem and investigate how particle bed heterogeneities influence the percolation threshold and, consequently, the expected caking times. Our findings indicate that a slight dispersion in particle size lowers the percolation threshold compared to a monodisperse bed or random percolation in polydisperse systems. Furthermore, we show that the expected caking time exhibits a non-monotonic behavior with the size dispersion, initially decreasing for low dispersion values and increasing for higher values. These results provide insights into the role of the particle size distribution on the caking dynamics of amorphous molecular powders
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_24256
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ranked percolation model for the caking time of amorphous molecular powders
Braz, Vasco C.
Araújo, Nuno A. M.
Soft Condensed Matter
Statistical Mechanics
When amorphous molecular powders are exposed to high humidity levels or temperatures, the particle viscosity increases due to plasticization, promoting the formation of sinter bridges between pairs of particles in contact. Over time, these bridges facilitate particle agglomeration, eventually leading to the formation of a macroscopic cake that alters the mechanical properties and affects product quality. In this work, we model the caking process of amorphous powders subjected to a temperature shock as a bond percolation problem and investigate how particle bed heterogeneities influence the percolation threshold and, consequently, the expected caking times. Our findings indicate that a slight dispersion in particle size lowers the percolation threshold compared to a monodisperse bed or random percolation in polydisperse systems. Furthermore, we show that the expected caking time exhibits a non-monotonic behavior with the size dispersion, initially decreasing for low dispersion values and increasing for higher values. These results provide insights into the role of the particle size distribution on the caking dynamics of amorphous molecular powders
title Ranked percolation model for the caking time of amorphous molecular powders
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.24256