Abstract
The motion of particles in fluid flow in a jig separator was investigated numerically and three-dimensional flow in the jig was calculated by the SIMPLE algorithm. The motion of particles was expressed by the BBO-type equation. The contact forces among particles were calculated by a discrete element method (DEM) extended to particles with size distributions. The results of simulation showed that two types of spherical particles with a difference in density of 10 kg/m3 but the same diameters could be classified (separated). In addition, particles with the same settling velocities and different diameters could also be classified (separated). To analyze the motion of particles in the jig, we derived an equation for the response time of the particle that included added mass, gravity, and drag forces.
