The angle of repose for the flow of granular materials in a half-filled rotating drum is studied by means of experiments and computer simulations. Particles of different material properties are used to investigate the effects of the end caps on the angle of repose. By fitting the numerical results to an exponentially decaying function, we are able to calculate the characteristic range, ζ, of the influence of the wall. We found that ζ scales with the drum radius but does not depend on either the density or the gravitational constant. For increasing particle diameter, finite size effects are visible.46.10+z, 05.60.+w, 02.70.Ns, 81.05.Rm

We simulate the size segregation of a binary mixture of granular material in a half filled two-dimensional rotating drum using the discrete elements method with linear contact forces. The dynamics of the segregation process is studied in detail as function of the angular velocity of the drum. We propose an order parameter to characterize the final amount of segregation and the segregation speed which allows to compare systems of different sizes and with different material properties. We demonstrate its usefulness by investigating its time dependence as function of the angular velocity of the drum and discuss the interplay between the thickness of the flowing layer and the mean particle velocity

Using discrete element methods, we study numerically the dynamics of the size segregation process of binary particle mixtures in three-dimensional rotating drums, operated in the continuous flow regime. Particle rotations are included and we focus on different volume filling fractions of the drum to study the interplay between the competing phenomena of mixing and segregation. It is found that segregation is best for a more than half-filled drum due to the non-zero width of the fluidized layer. For different particle size ratios, it is found that radial segregation occurs for any arbitrary small particle size difference and the final amount of segregation shows a linear dependence on the size ratio of the two particle species. To quantify the interplay between segregation and mixing, we investigate the dynamics of the center of mass positions for each particle component. Starting with initially separated particle groups we find that no mixing of the component is necessary in order to obtain a radially segregated core.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures (EPIC/EEPIC & EPS, macros included), submitted to Physics of Fluid

We study the interface dynamics of a binary particle mixture in a rotating cylinder numerically. By considering only the particle motion in axial direction, it is shown that the initial dynamics can be well described by a one-dimensional diffusion process. This allows us to calculate a macroscopic diffusion constant and we study its dependence on the inter-particle friction coefficient, the rotation speed of the cylinder and the density ratio of the two components. It is found that radial segregation reduces the drift velocity of the interface. We then perform a microscopic calculation of the diffusion coefficient and investigate its dependence on the position along the cylinder axis and the density ratio of the two particle components. The latter dependence can be explained by looking at the different hydrostatic pressures of the two particle components at the interface. We find that the microscopically calculated diffusion coefficient agrees well with the value from the macroscopic definition when taken in the middle of the cylinder.

We investigate the interplay of radial size and density segregation in a threedimensional cylinder numerically. By fixing the size ratio of a binary particle mixture and varying the density of the smaller particle, we find a very surprising segregation dynamics in the case of a counter-balance of size segregation by density segregation. It can be best described by a "segregation wave" propagating through the system which has dissolved completely by the time it has reached the cylinder boundary.