Segregation and mixture profiles in dense, inclined flows of two types of spheres

Abstract

We study dry flows of two types of spheres down an inclined, rigid, bumpy bed in the absence of sidewalls. The flow is assumed to be steady and uniform in all but the direction normal to the free surface, collisions between particles are dissipative, and the sizes and masses of the particles are not too different. We restrict our analysis to dense flows and use an extension of kinetic theory to predict the concentration of the mixture and the profile of mixture velocity. A kinetic theory for a binary mixture of nearly elastic spheres that do not differ by much in their size or mass is employed to predict profiles of the concentration fraction of one type of sphere. We also determine the ratio of the radii and of the masses of the two species for which there is no segregation. We compare the predictions of the theory to the results of numerical simulations.