Effect of granular shape on radial segregation in a two-dimensional drum

Abstract

Abstract Granular segregation is widely observed in nature and industry. Most research have focused on segregation caused by differences in the size and density of spherical grains. However, due to the fact that grains typically have different shapes, the focus is shifting towards shape segregation. In this study, experiments are conducted by mixing cubic and spherical grains. The results indicate that spherical grains gather at the center and cubic grains are distributed around them, and the degree of segregation is low. Through the experiments, a structured analysis of local regions is conducted to explain the inability to form stable segregation patterns with obvious geometric shapes. Further, through the simulations, the reasons for the central and peripheral distributions are explained by comparing velocities and the number of collisions of the grains in the flow layer.