Dynamics of mixing and segregation processes of grains in 3d blender by NMR imaging investigation

Tridimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was used to study the mixing and segregation processes in a Turbula mixer using binary mixtures of sugar beads. A segregation index S was defined to study the homogeneity and the kinetics of the mixing/segregation processes. When the ratio of bead diameters d(max)/d(min) is approximately 1, the mixing process is observed, but segregation occurs as soon as d(max)/d(min) is greater than 1.1. Moreover, the segregation appears as a faster process than mixing in the Turbula blender.