Segregation of cohesive powders in a vibrated granular bed

The effects of small amounts of added liquid on the segregation behavior of a granular system under vertical vibration by DEM simulation are investigated in this study. The cohesive forces of grains are incorporated into DEM simulations via a simplified dynamic liquid bridge force model. The simulation results show that capillary forces in addition to viscous forces have an important effect on the segregation phenomenon. The segregation rate of larger intruder rises to the top of the bed is found to depend on the liquid content. The segregation rate is sharply increased when a small amount of liquid is added to granular system. A transition to the reduction of segregation rate occurs at a critical liquid content. It has shown that this transition can be interpreted as the increase of attractive force between grains due to viscous force. The viscous forces make the particles stick more tightly to each other and retard the movement of particles, thus reducing the segregation rate. The segregation rate is also related to the convection motion of the granular system. The presence of convection enhances the segregation rate of wet granular materials. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.