Researchers Papapetrou et al. study radial segregation in a rotating drum; low filling boosts active layer depth in bulk.

Effect of filling degree on particle segregation in a rotating drum - an experimental and numerical study

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Papapetrou, T. N. ; Bieberle, M. ; Barthel, F. ; Hampel, U. ; Lecrivain, G.

Granular mixing, ubiquitous in industry, is difficult to observe. Ultrafast X-ray computed tomography is a relatively new technique that can be used to study rapid granular flows in opaque systems. A comparative study is here presented, where ultrafast X-ray computed tomography, camera and simulation with the Discrete Element Method are simultaneously used to investigate the radial segregation of 4-mm spherical polypropylene and glass beads in a rotating drum. The drum filling is varied from 20 to 50 %. The granular flow and the associated segregation dynamics at the front-end wall and in the bulk are compared. An important finding from this work relates to the passive and active layers for decreasing drum filling. At low filling, the layer of spherical particles in contact with the wall slips, leading to an increase in the active layer depth in the bulk.

Keywords: Granular mixing in a rotating drum; Ultrafast X-ray computed tomography; Discrete Element Method; Filling degree

Data and code: Investigation of the effect of filling degree on particle … ROBIS: 39449 HZDR-primary research data are used by this (Id 39503) publication

Data and code: Investigation of the effect of filling degree on particle … RODARE: 4691 HZDR-primary research data are used by this (Id 39503) publication

Scientific Reports 16(2026), 24029 DOI: 10.1038

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