Investigation of body motion in the trough of a vibratory conveyor with asymmetric oscillations of walls

The transport of material by vibratory conveyors involves micro-throws of particles, which can be undesirable for certain materials. This study investigates body motion in a conveyor trough whose bottom executes harmonic oscillations perpendicular to the transport direction, while the side walls undergo asymmetric oscillations. The methodology combines mathematical modelling and laboratory experiments. Numerical integration of the governing differential equations using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme yielded the body displacement over one oscillation period, which enabled estimation of the average conveying speed and, consequently, the throughput. The study substantiates the concept and demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed vibratory-conveyor architecture. The results can inform the design of conveyors with throughput regulated by adjusting oscillation frequency or amplitude.