Polydisperse particulate solids mixing and segregation: nonstationary Markov chains

The feasibility of analyzing interparticulate translocations within agitated beds of polydisperse particulate solids in terms of Markov chains was investigated. A binary mixture of spherical particles subjected to vertical sine wave vibration is shown to behave in accordance with a nonstationary. Markov chain having singly stochastic transition matrixes. The transition probability elements of such matrixes, calculated from a knowledge of the initial and final occupancy vectors, agree with those estimated using tracer particles. With appropriate restrictions, the former method, based on the solution of simultaneous equations, permits a quantitative evaluation of particle mobilities throughout the bed.