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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Cluster kinetics model of particle separation in vibrated granular media
Benjamin J McCoy1, Giridhar Madras
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. bjmccoy@ucdavis.edu
Abstract:
We model the Brazil-nut effect (BNE) by hypothesizing that granules form clusters that fragment and aggregate. This provides a heterogeneous medium in which the immersed intruder particle rises (BNE) or sinks (reverse BNE) according to relative convection currents and buoyant and drag forces. A simple relationship proposed for viscous drag in terms of the vibrational intensity and the particle to grain density ratio allows simulation of published experimental data for rise and sink times as functions of particle radius, initial depth of the particle, and particle-grain density ratio. The proposed model correctly describes the experimentally observed maximum in risetime.
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