When does segregation occur?

In practice, segregation is often based on one (or more) of the following basic mechanisms:

• Ball Track Principle
• Elutriation
• Percolation

Segregation via the ball trajectory principle is based on the principle that powder particles are given a horizontal initial velocity and that the powder particles then start to make a free fall. Elutriation segregation occurs when a liquid or gas flows through a bed of particles of different sizes. The smaller particles are absorbed and displaced by the current. Percolation segregation can occur if there is a large difference in a powder mixture between finer particles and the coarser components. If such a powder mixture is exposed to vibrations, the smaller particles will move downwards due to the influence of the vibration in combination with the force of gravity.