DEM simulation of the granular Maxwell’s Demon under zero gravity

¹ Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Physics, Beijing National Laboratory for Condense Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, China
² School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academic of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China

^* Corresponding author: mayhou@iphy.ac.cn

Published online: 30 June 2017

Abstract

In this work, granular segregation in a two-compartment cell (Maxwell’s Demon) under zero gravity is studied numerically by DEM simulation for comparison with the experimental observation in satellite SJ-10. The effect of three parameters: the total number of particles^N, the excitation strength^Γ, and the position of the window coupling the two compartments, on the segregation^ε and the waiting time^τ are investigated. In the simulation, non-zero segregation under zero gravity is obtained, and the segregation ^ε is found independent of the excitation strength^Γ. The waiting time τ, however, depends strongly on^Γ.

For higher acceleration Γ, ^|ε_i| reaches steady state value^ε faster.