The motions of granular materials in a vertical shaker are complicated
. According to the levels of the amplitude of the vibration accelerati
on, the particle motion phenomena may include the following convective
types: heaping; fluidization; segregation; surface wave; and arching.
This paper studied the arching phenomena of granular materials in a v
ertical shaker. The arching motions were investigated by high speed ph
otography and image processing technology. The velocity fields of the
granular materials during vibration were calculated from the recorded
images. The ensemble average velocities in the horizontal and vertical
directions were close to 0. The velocity fluctuations were also measu
red. The ensemble average granular temperature increases with the ampl
itude of the vibration acceleration, however, the variation of granula
r temperature with the acceleration in the horizontal direction is not
as significant due to the existing side walls. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie
nce S.A. All rights reserved.