The purpose of this work is to develop an experimental procedure to detect and quantify the degree of segregation of powders during vertical drops. Factors influencing powder segregation Segregation of powders can arise due to differences in physical and mechanical properties of the constituent particles. The mechanisms of segregation are associated with different process conditions, such as, vibration, fluidization, pouring in a heap, fall height, rate of feed, moisture and mixing ratio. Forces due to presence of other particles. Cohesion Relative magnitudes of particle-particle cohesive forces and body forces affect segregation.
Body forces are the sum of the drag, gravitational and buoyancy forces.
The apparatus is composed of a vertical pipe with a collection unit at the bottom. The collection unit consists of sequential rings, which allow for a size distribution analysis by layer after the material is dropped. The collection unit permits separating the powder by height in 0.5 inch increments. This consist of a section of Plexiglass pipe which has been cut into half inch ring sections. These are held together before the dropping experiment and then separated afterwards.