Axial segregation of a binary mixture in a rotating tumbler with non-spherical particles: Experiments and DEM model validation

The axial segregation behavior of a binary mixture made of spherical and non-spherical particles is studied experimentally and numerically using Discrete Element Methods (DEM). Two different shape approximations are used for modeling cylindrical particles: the equivalent sphere and the multisphere approximation. The coefficients required by DEM are calibrated partly by separate experiments, partly by geometrical considerations. The main objective is to dispose of a simple procedure to characterize the friction coefficients and to evaluate the main changes imposed by shape in an axial segregated rotating tumbler. The simulations match with the experimental observations in the multisphere case, the transient behavior is caught with accuracy with both approximations. [Display omitted] •DEM multisphere can reproduce the axial segregation observed experimentally.•Two equivalent sphere approximations are compared with the multisphere model.•A novel procedure is used to calibrate the friction coefficient in DEM algorithm.•The results are highly influenced by the calibration procedure.•The equivalent sphere approximation is adequate to represent experimental results.