Effect of bend angle on granular size segregation in the chute flow under periodic flow inversion

Abstract Segregation of granular homogeneous mixtures is a common problem faced by many industries. In recent years, periodic flow inversions have shown to mitigate both size and density segregation. However, they are not fully explored. In this paper, we investigate the effect of bend angle (θ) in the chute flow using three-dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations. We observed a significant difference in size segregation when changing the bend angle (θ) in terms of qualitative behavior and extent of segregation. For moderate and dense regimes, minimum segregation is observed for bend angle range of 120°–150°. Based on our results, we propose to use chutes with periodic 150° bends instead of vertical chutes, to reduce segregation and thus improve mixing.