Studies on the Mechanics of Carrier Bead Chains in Two-Component Development Process

摘要

Three kinds of studies have been carried out on the statics and dynamics of carrier bead chains in an electromagnetic field to solve the three questions, that is, how the mechanical properties of chains are in a high magnetic field, what the effect of friction between beads is, and how the properties of chains vary by the introduction of toner particles. The followings were deduced from the experimental, theoretical and numerical investigations. (1) By the measurement on length and population of chains in the high magnetic field up to 1.0 T, reductions in these properties with the increase in magnetic field were observed in the field more than 0.1 T and the characteristics were confirmed by the numerical calculation with the Distinct Element Method. (2) The observation of chain forming process in oil, where the effect of friction between particles was supposed to be negligible, showed a good agreement with the theoretically estimated value by the assumption of the potential energy minimization. (3) The magnetic effect of toner particles on the chain length is negligible while the electric effect on the electric pull-off properties of chains is significant.