Behavior of three kinds of particles in rotary barrel with planetary rotation

Barrel polishing is carried out with a mixture of workpieces and grinding materials that are filled into a rotary barrel. However, workpieces and grinding materials may separate depending on proccessing conditions. The processing conditions of a planetary barrel, which simultaneously rotates around a horizontal axis and revolves around a vertical axis, include many unknown factors as well as the occurrence of segregation. The motions of workpieces and grinding materials in this barrel are basically the same as those of particles undergoing planetary rotation in a cylindrical barrel. In order to calculate the behavior of a large number of particles, a numerical method that can be applied many discrete body is necessary. We have already examined the behavior of two kinds of particles and the characteristics of segregation in planetary rotation using the discrete element method (DEM). However, there are cases in which multiple grinding materials are used in barrel polishing. Therefore, in this report, three kinds of particles of different materials and sizes are filled into a planetary barrel, and the behavior of these particles was examined through experiments and DEM simulations. As a result, the segregation was found to occur even when three kinds of particles were filled into the rotary barrel. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the distribution of each of the three particles based on the segregation diagram could be obtained.