Segregation to mixing in wet granular matter under vibration

This study intends to investigate the influences of the content and viscosity of small amount of silicone oils added to a binary-mixture on the segregation phenomena in a vibrated shaker. The silicon oils with five different viscosities and six different liquid contents are utilized in this study. The dimensionless average height of the larger particles was measured so as to characterized the so-called Brazil nut effects. The experimental results indicate that the dimensionless average height of the larger particles decreases with the increase of the viscosity and liquid content of the added silicone oil. The results show that not only liquid content but also liquid viscosity plays a significant role on the final segregation state. We also find that the liquid bridge force does not have significant effect on the final segregation state if adding very low-viscosity liquid even if the liquid content is increased. Finally, we find that the size segregation could be controlled by the addition of different liquid content and viscosities. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.