Relationship between aggregate and sediment bed properties: Influence of inter-particle adhesion

Abstract

The influence of the magnitude of inter-particle attraction and adhesion, aggregate size and aggregate structure on the shear and compressive rheological behaviour of flocculated suspensions has been studied. Ninety nanometer diameter silica particles have been flocculated with poly diallyldimethylammonium chloride based cationic polymers of molecular weight approximately 100-300 kDa and 10-100% cationic charge. The amount of charge on the polymer influences the adsorption conformation of the polymer which influences the dominant mechanism for inter-particle attraction. Low charge density results in primarily bridging flocculation while high charge density results in primarily charge patch a..