Relation between segregation patterns and granular flow modes in conical rotating drum

Generally, it is difficult to observe, without any disturbance, flow structures or velocities inside flows such as granular flows, particle-fluid flows and so on. It is effective to use a non-contact and non-destructive measurement method for such flows. In the present paper, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technique is employed to measure the motion and velocity inside the flows. MRI has been applied to granular flows since about 1990. Our group has studied the particle motion inside the rotating drum using MRI. The rotating drum is industrial equipment which is widely utilized in engineering processes. In the cylindrical rotating drum it is well-known that axial and/or radial segregation take place. In the present study, we use a conical rotating drum which is sometimes employed in the granulation process. The conical rotating drum is half-filled with a mixture of two different sizes of spherical particles. We varied the rotational speed. Then we investigated the effect of the rotational speed on the axial segregation pattern and observed the flow mode.