Towards an Engineering Design Tool for Advanced Fibre Products

加拿大是世界上最大的森林产品供应国之一，出口额超过260亿美元。纤维生产是一个具有重要战略意义的部门，占森林业出口收入的50%。随着全球生活水平的提高和消费者对可再生、气候友好型材料和产品的需求增加，对纸浆、纸张、纸巾和包装等天然纤维产品的需求继续增长。纤维加工和产品制造通常在湍急的流体中高速进行。为了提高纤维加工效率，降低能耗，提高产品质量，我们的目标是开发一种湍流纤维悬浮液模型，该模型经过实验验证，并可应用于现代计算工程和设计工具。这项建议的具体目标是通过实验测量纤维悬浮液在光滑和粗糙的壁面上的湍流流动中的纤维取向、分布和浓度，这对整体工艺性能非常重要。根据这项研究的结果，我们将开发一个适合于应用到工程设计工具中的这种复杂流动现象的模型。这些工具将使设计下一代可持续纤维工艺和产品成为可能，同时将生产对经济和环境的影响降至最低。

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.