Material Properties in Cake Filtration – Discrete Element Simulation of Compression-Permeability Cells

This simulation study investigates the impact of material properties on the behavior of compressible filter cakes. A compression-permeability (CP) cell is used as a standard experimental technique for characterizing compressible cakes. It contains a bidisperse particle packing simulated by the discrete element method. Using this setup, a set of crucial material properties is varied and their influence on the macroscopic compression behavior as described by established fitting equations is studied. Sobol's sensitivity analysis is performed, and the results indicate that Young's modulus, the coefficient of sliding friction, and the surface energy density have the strongest impact on cake solidity and compressibility.