Particle Motion in a Liquid Film Rimming the Inside of a Partially Filled Rotating Cylinder

Both lighter- and hydrophobic heavier-than-liquid particles will float on liquid–air surfaces. Capillary forces cause the particles to cluster in typical situations identified here. This kind of clustering causes particles to segregate into islands and bands of high concentrations in thin liquid films rimming the inside of a slowly rotating cylinder partially filled with liquid. A second regime of particle segregation, driven by secondary motions induced by off-centre gas bubbles in a more rapidly rotating cylinder at higher filling levels, is identified. A third regime of segregation of bidisperse suspensions is found in which two layers of heavier-than-liquid particles that stratify when there is no rotation, segregate into alternate bands of particles when there is rotation.