Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Calibration of a CFD discharge process model of an off-road self-loading concrete mixer

  • Technical Paper
  • Published:
Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to calibrate a Eulerian–Eulerian multiphase CFD model for the discharge process of an off-road self-loading concrete mixer drum, by using the viscosity model applied to fresh concrete. Two different viscosity models for the simulated concrete were studied: the Newtonian fluid model and the Bingham fluid model. The final parameters applied for calibration were defined by means of comparisons between numerical simulations, literature search on concrete rheology, experimental tests of drum discharge process and experimental Abrams’ cone tests applied to concrete. The results show that concrete, simulated as a Bingham fluid, matches with the experimental results for the discharge process. On the other hand, a good fit between numerical and experimental results is not reached with concrete simulated as a Newtonian fluid. The calibration of the material model is essential in further numerical analyses for new mixer drums and concrete machinery production design.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
Fig. 24
Fig. 25

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

d :

Characteristic length (m)

Fr :

Froude number

g :

Standard gravity (m/s2)

h :

Height (m)

K :

Plastic viscosity (Pa s)

n :

Power index

n c :

Critical speed (rpm)

p 0 :

Relative pressure (Pa)

R :

Radius (m)

Re B :

Bingham Reynolds number

r :

Volume fraction

S :

Slump (mm)

T :

Slump time (s)

U :

Scalar velocity (m/s)

v b :

Bulk velocity (m/s)

η :

Apparent viscosity (Pa s)

\(\dot{\gamma }\) :

Shear rate (1/s)

µ :

Newtonian viscosity (Pa s)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

σ :

Surface tension coefficient (mN/m)

τ 0 :

Yield stress (Pa)

ω :

Angular speed (rad/s)

References

  1. Koehler EP, Fowler DW (2003) Summary of concrete workability test methods. Research Report ICAR-105-1. International Center for Aggregates Research, The University of Texas at Austin

  2. BRITISH STANDARD (2009) Testing fresh concrete part 2: Slump-test, BS EN 12350-2:2009

  3. Patzak B, Bittnar Z (2009) Modeling of fresh concrete flow. Comput Struct 87:962–969

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Roussel N, Gram A (2014) Simulation of fresh concrete flow, RILEM state-of-the-art reports 15, state-of-the-art report of the RILEM Technical Committee 222-SCF. Springer, Heidelberg

  5. Saak AW, Jennings HM, Shah SP (2004) A generalized approach for the determination of yield stress by slump and slump flow. Cem Concr Res 34:363–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Dufour F, Pijaudier-Cabot G (2005) Numerical modelling of concrete flow: homogeneous approach. Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 29:395–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Roussel N (2006) Correlation between yield stress and slump: comparison between numerical simulations and concrete rheometers results. Mater Struct 39:501–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Cremonesi M, Ferrara L, Frangi A, Perego U (2010) Simulation of the flow of fresh cement suspensions by a Lagrangian finite element approach. J Non-Newton Fluid Mech 165:1555–1563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Thrane LN (2007) Form filling with self-compacting concrete. Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby

    Google Scholar 

  10. Roussel N, Gram A, Cremonesi M, Ferrara L, Krenzer K, Mechtcherine V, Shyshko S, Skocec J, Spangeberg J, Svec O, Thrane LN, Vasilic K (2015) Numerical simulations of concrete flow: a benchmark comparison. Cem Concr Res 79:265–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Vasilic K, Schmidt W, Kühne HC, Haamkens F, Mechtcherine V, Roussel N (2016) Flow of fresh concrete through reinforced elements: experimental validation of the porous analogy numerical method. Cem Concr Res 88:1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gram A, Silfwerbrand J, Lagerblad B (2014) Obtaining rheological parameters from flow test—analytical, computational and lab test approach. Cem Concr Res 63:29–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Secrieru E (2018) Pumping behaviour of modern concretes—characterisation and prediction. TU Dresden, Dresden

    Google Scholar 

  14. Jo SD, Park CK, Jeong JH, Lee SH, Kwon SH (2012) A computational approach to estimating a lubricating layer in concrete pumping. Comput Mater Contin 27:189–210

    Google Scholar 

  15. Wallewik JE, Wallewik OH (2017) Analysis of shear rate inside a concrete truck mixer. Cem Concr Res 95:9–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ferraris CF (1999) Measurement of the rheological properties of high performance concrete: state of the art report. J Res Natl Inst Stand Technol 104:461–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hu C, de Larrard F (1996) The rheology of fresh high-performance concrete. Cem Concr Res 26:283–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Banfill PFG (2006) Rheology of fresh cement and concrete. Rheol Rev 2006:61–130

    Google Scholar 

  19. Bilgil A (2012) Estimation of slump value and Bingham parameters of fresh concrete mixture composition with artificial neural network modelling. Sci Res Essays 5:1753–1765

    Google Scholar 

  20. Hočevar A, Kavčič F, Bokan-Bosiljkov V (2013) Rheological parameters of fresh concrete—comparison of rheometers. Građevinar 65:99–109

    Google Scholar 

  21. Wallevik JE (2006) Relationship between the Bingham parameters and slump. Cem Concr Res 36:1214–1221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Banfill PFG, Beaupre D, Chapdelaine F, de Larrard F, Domone P, Nachbaur L, Sedran T, Wallevik OH, Wallevik JE (2001) Comparison of concrete rheometers: international tests at LCPC. National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg

    Google Scholar 

  23. Roussel N (2012) Understanding the rheology of concrete. Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  24. Hema V, Savithri S (2003) Mathematical modelling of the dynamics of granular materials in a rotating cylinder. Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi

    Google Scholar 

  25. Balaz P (2008) Mechanochemistry in nanoscience and minerals engineering. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  26. Hurtado FSV, Maliska CR, da Silva AFC, Cordazzo J (2005) An element-based finite volume formulation for reservoir simulation. In: Proceedings of the XXVI Iberian Latin-American congress on computational methods in engineering

  27. Sahin Y, Akkaya Y, Boylu F, Tasdemir MA (2017) Characterization of air entraining admixtures in concrete using surface tension measurements. Cem Concr Compos 82:95–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Brackbill JU, Kothe DB, Zemach C (1992) A continuum method for modeling surface tension. J Comput Phys 100:335–354

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  29. Malin MR (1997) The turbulent flow of Bingham plastic fluids in smooth circular tubes. Int Commun Heat Mass Transf 24:793–804

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNR – IMAMOTER, Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines of the Italian National Research Council, 44124, Ferrara, Italy

    Nicolò Beccati, Cristian Ferrari, Antonino Bonanno & Matteo Balestra

Authors
  1. Nicolò Beccati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cristian Ferrari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Antonino Bonanno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Matteo Balestra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolò Beccati.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Technical Editor: Cezar Negrao, PhD.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Beccati, N., Ferrari, C., Bonanno, A. et al. Calibration of a CFD discharge process model of an off-road self-loading concrete mixer. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 41, 76 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-019-1578-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-019-1578-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation