Doctor Juan Marcelo Gimenez, from the Structural Mechanics research group at CIMNE, has unveiled a new methodology to improve simulation of the powder coating process, an eco-friendly finishing technique used across various industries to create a hard finish tougher than conventional paint.
In a recent paper for the journal Computational Particle Mechanics, the author detailed the multiphysics and multiscale computational procedure used for enhancing high-fidelity simulation on electrostatically charged particles applied onto metal surfaces.
Dr Gimenez's approach, which has been successfully validated in experimental settings, addresses the challenges posed by traditional models, which require “substantial computational effort” and have limited practical application.
RVE configuration for particle-laden flows. Dimensionless inputs characterize the carrier and particulate phase.
The work studied the turbulent flow of charged particles using the multiscale pseudo-direct numerical simulation method (P-DNS), and simulated representative volume elements considering particle interaction with the surrounding gas and electrostatic field. The paper also presents a coat film model that quantifies thickness on the target surface.
The author reinterpreted the input body forces of a reduced synthetic model from existing literature, adding Coulomb forces to achieve more accurate and efficient results at the coarse and global scale.
When tested on complex geometry surfaces, Dr Gimenez’s model was able to accurately predict the behaviour of the electrostatic coating process, demonstrating the methodology’s potential as a “rapid predictive tool” for coating spray technology.
According to the author, this methodology can further reduce the environmental impact of powder coating technology, lowering the footprint of energy-intensive sectors such as the automotive, building, and manufacturing industries.
The full paper, entitled Multiscale simulation of electrostatic powder coating sprays was published on January 18.
