Fractal analysis of the fragmentation behavior of wet agglomerates upon normal and oblique impacts with a solid plate

Abstract

This paper investigates the fragmentation behavior of wet agglomerates upon normal and oblique impacts with a solid plate using DEM model coupled with a liquid bridge force model. Fractal theory is employed to characterize the fragments produced by the impact under various conditions. The fragmentation modes of wet agglomerates include both impact fragmentation and shear fragmentation. As the impact angle increases, the fragmentation mode gradually transitions from impact fragmentation to shear fragmentation, while the damage to the wet agglomerates decreases. At an impact angle of 50°, the largest fragment exhibits a looser geometry and a smaller fractal dimension. Furthermore, when the impact angle is elevated to 75°, the fractal dimensions of largest fragments increase compared to those at lower impact angles. Finally, two expressions for predicting the fractal dimension of largest fragment and the average fractal dimension are presented by integrating the dimensionless number П with the impact angle β.