Self-organized phase segregation in a driven flow of dissimilar particles mixtures

Self-organized patterns in an immiscible fluid mixture of dissimilar particles driven from a source at the bottom are examined as a function of hydrostatic pressure bias by a Monte Carlo computer simulation. As the upward pressure bias competes with sedimentation due to gravity, a multi-phase system emerges: a dissociating solid phase from the source is separated from a migrating gas phase towards the top by an interface of mixed (bicontinuous) phase. Scaling of solid-to-gas phase with the altitude is nonuniversal and depends on both the range of the height/depth and the magnitude of the pressure bias. Onset of phase separation and layering is pronounced at low bias range.