Towards an Engineering Design Tool for Advanced Fibre Products

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Canada is one of the largest suppliers of forest products to the world with exports exceeding $26 Billion. Fibre production is a strategically important sector that accounts for 50% of the forest industry's export revenues. The demand for natural fibre products, such as pulp, paper, tissue and packaging continues to grow as the global standard of living improves and consumer demand for renewable, climate friendly materials and products increases. Fibre processing and product manufacturing are typically performed at high speeds in turbulent fluids. To improve fibre processing efficiency, reduce energy consumption and increase product quality, we aim to develop a model of turbulent fibre suspensions that is validated by experiment and can be implemented into modern computational engineering and design tools. The specific objective of this proposal is to experimentally measure the fibre orientation distribution and concentration for a fibre suspension moving in turbulent flow over smooth and rough walls that is so important for overall process performance. From the results of this study, we will develop a model of this complex flow phenomena that is suitable for implementation into engineering design tools. These tools will make it possible to design the next generation of sustainable fibre processes and products while minimizing the economic and environmental impact of production.