Optimizing Vibratory Conveyors: DEM Simulation at Different Angular Pitches 

DEM simulation of uphill (5 degrees) vibratory conveyors at different angular shaking pitch. At low shaking angles (horizontal shaking) the material does not achieve sufficient lift and rolls back on the conveyor. At higher angles, shaking becomes more efficient. However, at very large angles (more vertical shaking), the material is heavily fluidized and forward momentum is lost in random collisions at the upper, fluidized layer.
Different color bands are shown to illustrate the mixing.
Particles are modeled as Hertz-Mindlin spheres with translation and rotation, and periodic boundary conditions are used along the width direction.
Simulated using particle-based simulation software Mpacts.