Simulation of flowing wood fibre suspensions

A simulation method is employed to study flowing suspensions of rigid acid flexible fibres, modelled as chains of prolate spheroids connected through elastic ball and socket joints. The method qualitatively reproduces known b ehaviour of both rigid and flexible fibres. Sedimentation simulations show that more flexible fibres form denser structures with more fibre contacts. In simulations of sheared suspensions, flexible fibres entangle but flocs l ack coherence without the addition of a short-range attractive force betwee n fibres.