Mixing of Bi-Dispersed Milli-Beads in a Rotary Drum. Mechanical Segregation Analyzed by Lab-Scale Experiments and DEM Simulation

Abstract

Mechanical flow and segregation phenomena within a bed composed of milli-metric size spherical beads rotated in a horizontal drum were investigated. The beads population was bi-dispersed, with two kinds of binary (half by half) compositions: a bi-size bed with two different sizes and a bi-density bed with two different densities. The distributions of the beads were observed optically on the front side of the bed by means of a lab-scale drum prototype. Different numbers and lengths of peripheral straight baffles were tested as well as different drum filling ratios. The photographical data were processed to obtain the front layer mechanical segregation index. This experimental index was compared to the simulated one, obtained by means of commercial discrete element software EDEM. The simulations were corroborated by the experiments provided that the friction coefficients of the discrete elements method (DEM) model were correctly adjusted. The global segregation index was also calculated from simulation data for all considered cases and its values were lower and less sensitive to baffles’ configurations than those for the front layer.