Ratchet-induced segregation and transport of nonspherical grains

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2002 Mar;65(3 Pt 1):031308. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.65.031308. Epub 2002 Mar 5.

Abstract

We consider through simulations the behavior of elongated grains on a vibrating ratchet-shaped base. We observe differences in layer velocity profile and in net grain velocity for grains that are composed of one, two, or three collinear spheres. In the case of mixtures of different species of grains, we demonstrate layer-by-layer variation in the average velocity as well as layer segregation of species, and show that horizontal separation of the species can be achieved using this geometry. We also find that the addition of a small number of shorter grains to a sample of long grains provides a lubrication effect that increases the velocity of the long grains.