Segregation in a Galton Board

BENITO, J.G.; VIDALES, A M; IPPOLITO, I.

Santa Fe, Argentina

Congreso; X Reunión Internacional sobre Recientes Avances en Física y Mecánica de Fluidos; 2008

INTEC, CONICET, AGENCIA

This work deals with a numerical study of the problem of separation of particles with different physical properties, in the present case, different elastic coefficients. The separation procedure uses a Galton Board which consist in a bidimensional system of obstacles arranged in a tiangular lattice. Disks of equal diameters but different elastic properties are launched from the top of the device. During the fall, disks collide with obstacles and with the lateral walls. The Galton Board is commonly used for mixing particles, but here, we intend to find special conditions under which one can use it as a segregating device. We introduce a mixture of particles and generate, through simulations, different conditions to favor the segregation process based on the different elastic coefficients that the particles have in the mixture. We inspect which is the best configuration of size, density of obstacles and wall separation to favor the separations of particles. Our results prove that the Galton Board can be used as a segregation device under certain conditions.