EPSRC funded EngD project. Optimisation of a vibro-packing process through simulation and experiment

Vibro-packing is a technique used in industry for filling moulds with granular particles to a high degree of packing fraction. The entire mould apparatus is vibrated with precise acceleration properties, causing the particles to permeate and fill the void spaces as efficiently as possible. The mould can then be back-filled with a suitable binder (e.g. epoxy resins) to produce a high-quality, homogeneous composite material with desirable mechanical properties in a (close to) near net shape.

The nature of the applied vibration and the design of the mould tool itself cause interesting phenomena, such as node formation around fixtures and out-of-axis motion, which are not simple to predict without extensive testing and simulation. This project involves a joint experimental and modelling study of these phenomena, with the intent of optimising the vibro-packing process to increase manufacturing throughput and tightly control the resulting material properties.

The project seeks to use advanced experimental techniques (such as Positron Emission Particle Tracking, PEPT) to characterize the system and provide important validation data. With PEPT, individual particles can be tracked as they move through the mould, which combined with machine learning and AI techniques, will allow us to develop an understanding of how the particles’ properties affect their packing behaviour. Cutting-edge modelling and simulation techniques (discrete element method, DEM, coupled with computational fluid dynamics, CFD) will be used to improve our understanding of how these properties – and those of the mould fixture and resin binder – can be used to produce better materials faster and more reliably.