Production of agglomerates via 3D printing technology for granule breakage tests

To improve the process design and end-product quality, it is essential to investigate the breakage behaviour of agglomerates. Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulation is commonly used but is limited by the lack of identical, controlled agglomerates to test and validate simple models, let alone replicate the complex structure of real industrial agglomerates. This paper presents a novel 3D printing production method of test agglomerates with defined properties. Agglomerate models with different sizes and structures were designed using Solidworks 2014 software and printed by an Object500 Connex 3D printer. During the printing process, different digital materials were used to print the particles and the inter-particle bridges, allowing infinite combinations of bond strength, particle strength and agglomerate structure to be tested. Several different model agglomerates were printed at varying scales, using rigid polymer to print the spherical particles and ductile polymer to produce the inter-particle bridges. The surface roughness and printing accuracy of printed agglomerates were assessed by optical microscope. Preliminary compression tests were performed to compare the breakage behaviour of printed agglomerates with different build directions. This 3D printing technique will allow more rigorous testing of agglomerate breakage models.