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The role of interstitial gas in the Brazil Nut effect

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Abstract

We have studied the Brazil Nut effect – the rise of a large intruder particle within a vertically vibrated bed of smaller particles. In our study both intruder and bed particles were spherical and the vibration was such that bed convection was negligible. The rise of the intruder was found to be influenced by humidity of the air within the interstices of the particle bed and on the electrostatic charge developed on the bed particles during preparation and vibration. High relative humidity and high electrostatic charge each had the effect of slowing the rise of the intruder. Because increasing relative humidity of the interstitial air caused the electrostatic charge to diminish, the rise rate of the intruder achieved a maximum at a relative humidity of around 55%. Under controlled humidity and charge conditions, the time for the intruder to rise through the bed was found to decrease with increase in intruder diameter. As intruder density was varied under controlled humidity and charge conditions, the intruder rise time was found to exhibit a maximum when the intruder density of approximately one half of the bulk density of the bed of particles. This interesting trend was modelled by taking account of the pressure gradient that is generated across a bed of particles vertically vibrated within a gas. The tentative model suggests that the gas flows associated with this pressure gradient restrict the motion of the bed more than that of the intruder and that it is this difference that accounts for the rise of the intruder. Also incorporated in the model is the buoyancy force on the intruder that results from the pressure gradient across the bed. KeywordsBrazil nut effect, Vibration, Granular solids, Humidity, Electrostatics, Interstitial air

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Australia

    Martin Rhodes, Shintaro Takeuchi & Kanni Muniandy

  2. Energy & Thermofluids Engineering, The School of Mathematical Sciences, , CSIRO/MIT, Monash University, Australia

    Kurt Liffman

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  1. Martin Rhodes
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  2. Shintaro Takeuchi
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  3. Kurt Liffman
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  4. Kanni Muniandy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Rhodes.

Additional information

Dr. Shintaro Takeuchi is a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Ms. Muniandy received financial support from CSIRO grant CZ-25.

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Rhodes, M., Takeuchi, S., Liffman, K. et al. The role of interstitial gas in the Brazil Nut effect. GM 5, 107–114 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-003-0140-z

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