1999/10/06 by Sean McNamara, S. McNamara, McNamara, S. +3
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Granular flow and fluidized beds #Planetary Science and Exploration #Soil Mechanics and Vehicle Dynamics #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/9910084
6 pages, 7 figures. in: Segregation in Granular Flows, IUTAM symposium, T. Rosato, ed. (in press)
arxiv created 1999/10/06 · openalex publication_date 1999/10/06 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We show that a mixture of two species of granular particles with equal sizes but differing densities can be either segregated or mixed by adjusting the granular temperature gradient and the magnitude of the gravitational force. In the absence of gravity, the dense, heavy particles move to the colder regions. If the temperature gradient is put into a gravitational field with the colder regions above the hotter, a uniform mixture of light and heavy particles can be attained. This situation can be realized in a container of finite height with a vibrating bottom, placed in a gravitational field. We present a relation between the height of the container, the particle properties, and the strength of gravity required to minimize segregation.