Abstract—In this study, the mixing and segregation of two particle phases in a horizontal rotating cylinder were investigated via simulations and experiments. Two-dimensional CFD simulations were carried out to simulate the particle behavior in a transverse plane of a rotating cylinder. The Eulerian approach with the kinetic theory of granular flow was used to simulate granular phases with different particle size and density under the rolling mode. Experiments were done in an in-house built transparent rotary drum. The experiments revealed that the fine particles tend to move into the particle bed and form a kidney during rotation. Particle dynamics in the active layer initiate the segregation according to the trajectory mechanism. Further, percolation brings small particles through the voids of larger particles under gravity and get concentrated at the midsection of the particle bed in the transverse plane. The simulated results matched well with the experimental data.
Index Terms—Active layer, granular flow, rotating drums, rolling mode, segregation.
The authors are with the University College of Southeast Norway, Department of Process, Energy and Environmental Technology, Norway (e-mail: Lars.A.Tokheim@usn.no).
[PDF]
Cite: Sumudu S. Karunarathne, Chameera K. Jayarathna, and Lars-Andre Tokheim, "Mixing and Segregation in a Rotating Cylinder: CFD Simulation and Experimental Study," International Journal of Modeling and Optimization vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-6, 2017.
