Modeling the Transversal Motion of Granular Materials in Rotary Drums

The transversal motion behavior of granular materials in rotary drums has not been well understood despite of research efforts. An early developed mathematical model was introduced to predict the mean particle velocity in the active layer of a rolling material bed. Experiments were carried out on a D400 drum with plastic discs as testing material. The velocities were measured at different filling degrees and rotation speeds, using Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) technique. It is found that the mean velocity increases with increasing rotation speed and filling degree. Comparisons demonstrate that predicted results based on the theoretical model have a satisfactory agreement with experiments within the measuring errors.