Modelling of particle layer detachment—Role of transient kinetic effects

Abstract Particle layers tend to build up on walls in many filtration and separation processes, calling for periodic removal in order to keep the apparatus running. Important factors are the adhesion of the layer on the substrate and the cohesion of the particles in the layer. Models describing such layer detachment generally assume constant and homogeneous conditions for the forces acting on the layer. But in reality detachment is extremely non-stationary concerning place and time, primarily due to changing conditions of the detaching forces on the one hand and changes in the particle layer morphology on the other. This paper describes a model and a simulation based on this model considering such transient kinetic effects, for which some computing results are presented and discussed.