Computational studies of granular mixing

Particulate systems have proven difficult to probe experimentally in many i nstances. Simulations of granular flows, and mixing flows in particular. pr ovide a useful means of studying particulate behavior. Mixing flows generat e large scale patterns and structures which can be easily visualized. Thus, mixing studies provide a means of indirectly examining granular flows. In this paper we review recent computational studies of tumbler mixing, focusi ng on two very different, yet complementary, techniques: Particle Dynamics and Lagrangian Simulation. We discuss mixing in different tumbler geometrie s, as well as segregation and cohesive effects. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S .A. All rights reserved.