Vibratory Conveyance of Granular Materials Comprising Elliptic Particles

The flow model of granular materials on vibratory conveyors is derived by using an improved discrete element method. Granular materials are first assumed as cylindrical bodies with elliptic cross sections to take into account the dependence of shape anisotropy on the flow patterns. Then mechanical elements such as springs, dashpots and friction sliders model the contact forces and the equation of motion for the particles is numerically solved. It is shown that the mean velocity of transport of granular materials depends on the frequency and amplitude of the vibratory input as well as various physical parameters. By comparing the experimental with calculated results, the flow patterns obtained by this method appear realistic.