Sorting particles in the air using direct and inverse Chladni patterns of a vibrating plate

Abstract

The combination of direct and inverse Chladni patterns to sort particles or control their motion was primarily studied in liquids through theoretical and numerical studies. The few proposed experimental demonstrations relied on micrometric or millimetric-scale vibrating systems. This work describes a proof of concept for sorting particles in the air using direct and inverse Chladni patterns of a vibrating plate at the decimetric scale. The plate has well-defined modal shapes and resonance frequencies thanks to controlled simply-supported boundary conditions. Sorting possibilities are evaluated using three materials of different densities and types (table salt, lycopodium powder, and iced tea dry mix). Our experimental results confirm numerical results from the literature and indicate that particles can be sorted according to their density or size using direct and inverse Chladni patterns. Finally, perspectives on applications and domains for this prototype aimed at vibrosorting particles are briefly discussed, and directions for future works are suggested.