Bakhbakhi Y.
King Saud University, SA
Keywords: finite element analysis
Nonconventional processing methods can lead to the development of materials with unique chemical, physical or mechanical characteristics that make them suitable for specialized applications. One such method is crystallization with supercritical fluids (SCFs), where the unique fluid characteristics and solvent properties of supercritical fluids are utilized. The utilization of SCFs for the processing of several products has attracted considerable interest in recent years as an emerging “green” technology1. Particle formation using SCFs can be carried out according to several different techniques, including antisolvent techniques such as the gas-antisolvent (GAS) process3. The potential advantages of the GAS crystallization process lies in the possibility of obtaining solvent free, micron and submicron particles with a narrow size distribution. The nucleation and growth of the particles in the GAS process is described using the population balance equation, which describes the evolution of the particle size distribution with time. The population balance technique parallels other balance approaches such as material. However, what is different in the population balance is the accounting for both the size and number of particles. The implementation of the combined Collocation and Galerkin finite element method requires the finite representation of the differential equations, which is accomplished through the construction of a Jacobi Matrix. This defining step in the applied algorithm requires numerical integration which is achieved using the Gaussian quadrature method.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Nanotechnology 2010: Electronics, Devices, Fabrication, MEMS, Fluidics and Computational
Published: June 21, 2010
Pages: 512 - 514
Industry sector: Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip
ISBN: 978-1-4398-3402-2