Flow reorganization in cohesive granular materials induced by pulsed aeration

Abstract Pulsed aeration offers a solution to the flow regulation challenges of cohesive granular materials in industrial processing. We experimentally studied the hopper discharge and rheological characteristics of cohesive lactose powders under pulsed aeration. Experimental results demonstrate that pulsed aeration significantly improves discharge efficiency compared to continuous aeration. Rheological tests demonstrate that pulsed aeration reduces interparticle cohesive forces by 90% through enhanced shear, exceeding the limit achievable under continuous aeration. By defining the pulse‐induced dimensionless acceleration parameter, the coherent relationship between the discharge rate and energy dissipation was established, which reveals that the shear engendered by pulsed aeration triggers the reorganization of the flow regime and the reconstruction of energy dissipation pathways after reaching fluidization, driving the granular system toward a minimum energy structure. A Weibull model based on the pulsed Froude number describes the nonlinear evolution of flow rate, identifying the localized flow reorganization within the cohesive powder.