Binary mixtures (granules of two different sizes) segregate when subjected to rotation in a tumbler. When large and small sized granules are mixed and rotated at moderate speed, segregation starts immediately with smaller sized granules concentrating at the center and larger ones on the periphery of the of the tumbler, which is known as radial segregation. After a few minutes, axial segregation (where bands of small and large-granules appear) begins. This paper presents experimental results relating granular segregation with power consumption using grains of rice and black beans as the binary mixture in a rotating drum. At constant voltage supply from a source, power consumption, expressed in terms of torque and rotational speed required to rotate a mixture of equal mass of rice and beans, decreases as axial bands form. Similar experiments using only rice or only black beans of the same mass show little or no decrease in power consumption. Rice (the smaller sized granules) consume larger and constant amount of power whereas black beans (larger sized granules) consumes smaller and constant amount of power consumption.
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