Studying Brazil-Nut Effect History Line using Disk-Formed Objects, Scanner, and Web Browser

TL;DR

This study models the Brazil-nut effect using disk-shaped objects and digital analysis to understand how grains settle, revealing that overall system energy minimization guides configuration, with intruder behavior being more complex.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining physical modeling, scanning, and web-based digitization to analyze BNE configurations and energy principles.

Findings

System tends to minimize potential energy in BNE configurations.

Intruder evolution may violate MEP locally but not system-wide.

Grain compaction influences the attainment of minimum energy states.

Abstract

Grains configuration snapshots of Brazil-nut effect (BNE) in two-dimension are physically modeled using disk-formed objects, e.g., buttons and magnetic pin. These BNE configurations are artificially designed to mimic the real ones observed in experiments. A computer scanner is used to capture the configurations. Obtained images are then digitized using web browser running a HTML equipped with a JavaScript code, which is built mainly only for this work. From digitization process all grains positions (granular bed and intruder) are obtained, which is later analyzed using the simplest model, i.e., potential energy. Since the minimum energy principle (MEP) suggests that a closed system should go to its state with minimum internal energy, our BNE system must also obey it. Evolution of only the intruder seems to violate MEP but not for the whole system. Grains compaction plays important role, so that the system can achieve its configuration with minimum potential energy.