The Particulate Sciences Laboratory at Purdue University investigates the mixing and segregation of binary and multi-component granular materials. Solids mixing, also known as blending, is a common processing operation used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products. The intent of mixing operations is to produce products of uniform quality and content and to control the rates of heat and mass transfer and chemical reactions. Industrial devices designed to mix solids include tumblers, convective mixers, gravity flow mixers, and fluidized mixers.

In contrast, segregation causes the un-mixing or separation of particles. This phenomenon often occurs in processes where particles have differing properties such as size, density, or surface characteristics. In most instances, segregation is undesirable since it counteracts the intent of mixing operations. This is of particular concern for the pharmaceutical industry where homogeneous blends of solids is critical.

This video of the pharmaHUB Hopper Flow Discharge simulation was generated by ParticleVis.

Professor Carl Wassgren, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University Vincent Hoon, Computer Science, Purdue University Bill Ketterhagan, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Carl Wassgren (2007), "Hopper Segregation," https://pharmahub.org/resources/14.

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1. Discrete element model (DEM)
2. Hopper flow
3. Particle-based computations
4. Visualization