Influence of particle-scale properties on the charge transfer characteristics in semiconducting particulate packing: particle-based finite element analysis

The role of single-particle properties on the (macroscopic) charge distribution characteristics in particulate packing is not yet well understood, in spite of their extensive industrial relevance. In this paper, using computer simulations, we probe the influence of packing structure and size of the constituting particles on the charge distribution characteristics in semiconducting deterministic particulate packing. The simulations are based on the coupled particle finite element method approach (three-dimensional). We show that ordered particulate structures transfer charge more efficiently across the bed than for amorphous packing. For a given packing structure (face-centered cubic), the measure of charge transfer across the bed per unit area increases with decreasing particle size. The overall conductivity of the bed is proportional to the bead conductivity used in the packing. The ramping time for full potential across the packing is attained in just about 1 ms. The results show that the variations in the structural packing arrangement and size of the particles strongly influence the charge distribution (hopping) characteristics in particulate assemblies.