This work examines the fundamental behaviour of granular materials in packed/moving beds under simplified blast furnace conditions. Such study has a significant impact on the development of new technology such as pulverized coal injection and the performance of blast furnace operation. Experiments have shown that a number of interesting phenomena appear in blast furnace operation. These phenomena involve rich granular dynamics which currently attract strong interest from a wide scientific and engineering. However, previous work on this area, limited by the research techniques, is predominantly at large scales focusing on phenomenological descriptions, but rarely touching on the basic fundamentals governing these phenomena. A novel discrete element simulation at an individual particle level can overcome these problems. For this purpose, this work conducts a systematic study of these important phenomena, including crater formation, coke collapse, creep motion and particle percolation, by use of the discrete element method (DEM). The experiments and simulations conducted in the impact of a particle stream onto a particle bed using a 20 slot model suggest that the DEM can reproduce the experimental results well under comparative conditions. The crater size is shown to be affected by the discharging rate, discharging height and materials properties, and is related to the ratio of the input energy from the falling stream to the inertial energy from the original packing. Fundamental understanding of coke collapse based on three different configurations: batch charging, self loading and load impact have been investigated. It was found that coke collapse is a kind of continuous avalanche due to top layer particles spreading. Apparent frozen layer under rapidly flowing layer is not stationary and slowly creep motion can be detected at an arbitrary depth. The mean velocity of creep motion decays exponentially with depth. Percolation happens due to both gravity and strain. The percolation velocity under gravity is much greater than that under shear. Size ratio effect is most significant. For size ratio smaller than threshold gravity induced percolation dominate otherwise shear due to the descending of the packed bed. Additionally, this work demonstrates the value of DEM as a tool for complementing experimental observations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Li Shi. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The subject of this thesis is the measurement of flow properties of powder materials. The theoretical part deals with particulate substances in general and describes the basic principles of flow behavior of powder materials. In the theoretical part is a description of the Jenike Shear Tester and Ring Shear Tester. The following section summarizes the Standard Shear Testing Technique. Measurements were carried out on the new apparatus Laboratory of Chemical Engineering. The measurement was selected 5 samples of limestone Omyacarb ® from Omya CZ s.r.o. Individual samples varied in four different particle size distributions and one sample was surface-modified hydrophobic stearic acid. Tests were conducted at 3 levels of the preshear normal stress - 2.5 kPa, 5 kPa and 7.5 kPa. Distribution function of particle size in the material data sheets supplied by the manufacturer were verified using a laser particle size analyzer Sympatec Helos KR purchased in the Materials Research Centre at the Faculty of Chemistry at Brno University of Technology.

A construção civil, especialmente nos últimos anos, tem se assemelhado à configuração organizacional denominada rede de empresas, devido a mudanças estruturais em sua forma de produção e relacionamento firma-empregado. A adoção de novas técnicas e ferramentas para o aumento da competitividade é necessária, para o desenvolvimento das empresas do setor. A estrutura do produto, ferramenta intensamente utilizada na indústria de manufatura, se apresenta como um instrumento no auxílio à competitividade das empresas de construção civil, especialmente nas áreas relativas a suprimento e a fluxo de materiais. / The civil construction sector, specially in last years, has been similar to the organizational configuration called network enterprise, because the structural changes in the production form and employee relationship. The use of new techniques and tools to improve the competitiveness is necessary to develop the sector companies. The product structure, used oftenly in manufacturing industry, is a tool that helps the competitiveness of the firms in construction sector, specially in supply and materials flow management.

A construção civil, especialmente nos últimos anos, tem se assemelhado à configuração organizacional denominada rede de empresas, devido a mudanças estruturais em sua forma de produção e relacionamento firma-empregado. A adoção de novas técnicas e ferramentas para o aumento da competitividade é necessária, para o desenvolvimento das empresas do setor. A estrutura do produto, ferramenta intensamente utilizada na indústria de manufatura, se apresenta como um instrumento no auxílio à competitividade das empresas de construção civil, especialmente nas áreas relativas a suprimento e a fluxo de materiais. / The civil construction sector, specially in last years, has been similar to the organizational configuration called network enterprise, because the structural changes in the production form and employee relationship. The use of new techniques and tools to improve the competitiveness is necessary to develop the sector companies. The product structure, used oftenly in manufacturing industry, is a tool that helps the competitiveness of the firms in construction sector, specially in supply and materials flow management.

This diploma thesis deals with optimization of material and information flows in the selected company. The thesis consists of the current state analysis of internal problems that are related to suppliers and customers. Basic logistic terms related to the topic are explained in the theoretical part. The practical part analyzes the current situation in Hella comany and consists of proper suggestions suitable for the optimization of the current state.

The aim of this Master thesis is to explore the impact of design parameters on material flow efficiency in terms of space and time (labor or person-hours) utilization. The factory material flow design process is an essential part of any manufacturing. The challenge for this project was to expose the components for the assembly operator within the space designated for materials at the workstation, meanwhile minimizing non-value-adding work and creating good ergonomics so that operators can achieve high workstation performance. In this study a new General Motors Powertrain Uzbekistan (GMPT-UZ) Greenfield manufacturing plant was considered as a case study for the design of internal material flow and implementation of lean principles. The research work was based on action research strategy where the researcher starts with a particular problem that he wants to solve, or understand better, usually within the environment where he is working. The findings underline the importance of each design parameter in the application of lean principles. The main conclusion to be drawn from this study is that the material flow design process can still require a continuous improvement based on production targets and the best practices from other companies.

The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the description of particulate materials and their mechanical behaviors with a focus on flow properties. Great emphasis is placed on measuring the shear properties using a Jenike shear machine, on the correct procedure for standardized measurement and evaluation using Mohr's circles. The theoretical part focuses on the characterization of particulate matter using a variety of methods available, such as visual, separation, sedimentation, surface methods and methods of scanning field and flow. The practical part is focused on the determination of flow characteristics and surface finishing of finely ground limestone Omyacarb VA with various grain sizes. The surface was modified using stearic acid and calcium stearate. Attention was paid to the influence of the concentration of surface-regulating substances on the flowability of the material. The flowability of commercially supplied material was compared with lab modified materials and the determination of the theoretical content of stearic acid or calcium stearate was accomplished. Shear properties were measured using the Jenike shear machine. The material was further tested by laser diffraction and SEM with EDS particle surface analysis and elemental surface mapping.