MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS STUDIES OF GRAIN SEGREGATION IN SHEARED FLOW

Size segregation is a widely observed consequence of sheared flow in g ranular media, in which the larger grains rise to the upper surface of the bulk, despite the fact that all grains have the same material den sity!. A two-dimensional molecular dynamics study of the phenomenon is described in this paper, The grains are represented by inelastic disk s and the Bow occurs down an inclined slope with a rough base. The sim ulations readily reproduce the segregation effect, the results of a se ries of measurements of various aspects of this so-called ''inverse gr ading'' are reported.