Particle dynamics in dense shear granular flow

The particle dynamics in an annular shear granular flow is studied using the discrete element method, and the influences of packing fraction, shear rate and friction coefficient are analyzed. We demonstrate the existence of a critical packing fraction exists in the shear granular flow. When the packing fraction is lower than this critical value, the mean tangential velocity profile exhibits a rate-independent feature. However, when the packing fraction exceeds this critical value, the tangential velocity profile becomes rate-dependent and varies gradually from linear to nonlinear with increasing shear rate. Furthermore, we find a continuous transition from the unjammed state to the jammed state in a shear granular flow as the packing fraction increases. In this transforming process, the force distribution varies distinctly and the contact force network also exhibits different features.

Numerical simulations of dense granular flow in a two-dimensional channel:The role of exit position

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to elucidate the influence of exit position on a dense granular flow in a two-dimensional channel. The results show that the dense flow rate remains constant when the exit is far from the channel wall and increases exponentially when the exit moves close to the lateral position. Beverloo’s law proves to be successful in describing the relation between the dense flow rate and the exit size for both the center and the lateral exits.Further simulated results confirm the existence of arch-like structure of contact force above the exit. The effective exit size is enlarged when the exit moves from the center to the lateral position. As compared with the granular flow of the center exit, both the vertical velocities of the grains and the flow rate increase for the lateral exit.

Packing induced bistable phenomenon in granular flow:analysis from complex network perspective

The effects of packing configurations on the phase transition of straight granular chute flow with two bottlenecks axe studied. The granular flow shows a dilute- to-dense flow transition when the channel width is varied, accompanied with a peculiar bistable phenomenon. The bistable phenomenon is induced by the initial packing config- uration of particles. When the packing is dense, the initial flux is small and will induce a dense flow. When the packing is loose, the initial flux is large and will induce a di- lute flow. The fabric network of granulax packing is analyzed from a complex network perspective. The degree distribution shows quantitatively different characteristics for the configurations. A two-dimensional （2D） packing clustering coefficient is defined to better quantify the fabric network.

Numerical Simulation of a Granular Flow on a Smooth Inclined Plane

Unlike most fluids,granular materials include coexisting solid,liquid or gaseous regions,which produce a rich variety of complex flows.Dense flows of grains driven by gravity down inclines occur in nature and in industrialprocesses.To describe the granular flow on an inclined surface,several studies were carried out.We can cite in particular the description of Saint-Venant which considers a dry granular flow,without cohesion and it only takes into account the substance-substrate friction,this model proposes a simplified form of the granular flow,which depends on the one side on the angle of inclination of the substrate with respect to the horizontal plane and on the other side on the thickness of the substance H.The numerical simulation we have developed is first based on the Saint-Venant model,it allowed us to visualize the variation of the speed according to the thickness of the substance(from 0 to H)and to deduce the average speed of the substance on an inclined plane.However,this restrictive model does not take into account the effect of particle friction on the flow and considers that the thickness H is constant.To make our simulation more realistic,we opted for the Savage-Hatter model.We took into account the variation of the thickness on the particles speed,in addition we have studied the effect of the variation of many parameters on the granular flow,namely the temperature and the roughness of the substrate,the density and the compactness of the substance,we found that the speed of the particles increases and the treatment time decreases with an increase in temperature.

Mass-front velocity of dry granular flows influenced by the angle of the slope to the runout plane and particle size gradation

The mass-front velocities of granular flows results from the joint action of particle size gradations and the underlying surfaces.However,because of the complexity of friction during flow movement,details such as the slope-toe impedance effects and momentum-transfer mechanisms have not been completely explained by theoretical analyses,numerical simulations,or field investigations.To study the mass-front velocity of dry granular flows influenced by the angle of the slope to the runout plane and particle size gradations we conducted model experiments that recorded the motion of rapid and long-runout rockslides or avalanches.Flume tests were conducted using slope angles of 25°,35°,45°,and 55° and three particle size gradations.The resulting mass-front motions consisted of three stages:acceleration,velocity maintenance,and deceleration.The existing methods of velocity prediction could not explain the slowing effect of the slope toe or the momentum-transfer steady velocity stage.When the slope angle increased from 25° to 55°,the mass-front velocities dropped significantly to between 44.4% and59.6% of the peak velocities and energy lossesincreased from 69.1% to 83.7% of the initial,respectively.The velocity maintenance stages occurred after the slope-toe and mass-front velocity fluctuations.During this stage,travel distances increased as the angles increased,but the average velocity was greatest at 45°.At a slope angle of 45°,as the median particle size increased,energy loss around the slope toe decreased,the efficiency of momentum transfer increased,and the distance of the velocity maintenance stage increased.We presented an improved average velocity formula for granular flow and a geometrical model of the energy along the flow line.

Flow Behaviors of Gas-Solid Injector by 3D Simulation with Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow

由 Eulerian 途径的一个煤气固体的注射者的流动行为上的计算研究被执行。煤气的阶段与 k- 被建模狂暴的模型和粒子阶段与小粒的流动的运动理论被建模。由 Eulerian 二液体的模型(TFM ) 的模拟与由分离元素方法(DEM ) 和实验的相应结果相比。它被看模仿的结果在对的合理同意的那 TFM 试验性并且模仿的 DEM 结果。基于 TFM 模拟，煤气固体的流动模式，煤气的速度，粒子速度和静电干扰在不同开车喷气速度， backpressure 和会聚的节角度下面的压力被获得。结果证明平均轴的煤气的速度严厉地减少了然后稍微在水平传送增加了到经常的价值的时间尖叫。轴的粒子速度开始增加了然后减少的时间一般水准，但是在会聚的节的插头区域，粒子速度显著地再次增加了到最大的价值。总体上，静态的压力分发变化趋势被发现在驾驶煤气的速度， backpressure 和会聚的节角度上独立。然而，静态的压力随会聚的节角度和煤气的喷气速度的增加增加了。到 backpressure 的静态的压力的差别与增加 backpressure 增加了。

Three-dimensional Simulation of Gas/Solid Flow in Spout-fluid Beds with Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow

A three-dimensional Eulerian multiphase model, with closure law according to the kinetic theory of granular flow, was used to study the gas/solid flow behaviors in spout-fluid beds. The influences of the coefficient of restitution due to non-ideal particle collisions on the simulated results were tested. It is demonstrated that the simulated result is strongly affected by the coefficient of restitution. Comparison of simulations with experiments in a small spout-fluid bed showed that an appropriate coefficient of restitution of 0.93 was necessary to simulate the flow characteristics in an underdesigned large size of spout-fluid bed coal gasifier with diameter of 1m and height of 6m. The internal jet and gas/solid flow patterns at different operating conditions were obtained. The simulations show that an optimal gas/solid flow pattern for coal gasification is found when the spouting gas flow rate is equal to the fluidizing gas flow rate and the total of them is two and a half times the minimum fluidizing gas flow rate. Be-sides, the radial distributions of particle velocity and gas velocity show similar tendencies; the radial distributions of particle phase pressure due to particle collisions and the particle pseudo-temperature corresponding to the macro-scopic kinetic energy of the random particle motion also show similar tendencies. These indicate that both gas drag force and particle collisions dominate the movement of particles.

Estimating the maximum impact force of dry granular flow based on pileup characteristics

The maximum normal impact resultant force(NIRF)is usually regarded as the sum of the static earth pressure of the dead zone and the dynamic impact pressure of the flowing layer.The influence of the interaction between the flowing layer and dead zone on the impact force is ignored.In this study,we classified two impact models with respect to the pileup characteristics of the dead zone.Then,we employed the discrete element method to investigate the influences of the pileup characteristics on the impact force of dry granular flow on a tilted rigid wall.If the final pileup height is equal to the critical value,the maximum NIRF can be estimated using a hydrostatic model,because the main contribution to the maximum NIRF is the static earth pressure of the dead zone.If the final pileup height is less than the critical value,however,the particles in the dead zone are squeezed along the slope surface by the impact ofthe flowing layer on the dead zone,and because of shear effects,the flowing layer causes an entrainment in the dead zone.This results in a decrease in the volume of the dead zone at the moment of maximum NIRF with increases in the slope angle.As such,the maximum NIRF mainly comprises the instant impact force of the flowing layer,so hydro-dynamic models are effective for estimating the maximum NIRF.Impact models will benefit from further study of the components and distribution of the impact force of dry granular flow.

A Fractal Model for the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Granular Flow with Non—uniform Particles

The equipartition of energy applied in binary mixture of granular flow is extended to granular flow withnon-uniform particles. Based on the fractal characteristic of granular flow with non-uniform particles as well as energyequipartition, a fractal velocity distribution function and a fractal model of effective thermal conductivity are derived.Thermal conduction resulted from motions of particles in the granular flow, as well as the effect of fractal dimension oneffective thermal conductivity, is discussed.

Influence of vibration on granular flowability and its mechanism of aided flow

Regarding flowing granular media as weak transverse isotropic media, the phase velocity expressions of wave P, wave SH and wave SV were deduced, the propagation characteristics of waves in flowing granular media were analyzed. The experiments show that vibration has great influence on granular fluidity. The wavefront of wave P is elliptic or closely elliptic, the wavefront of wave SH is elliptic, and the wavefront of wave SV is not elliptic. Wave propagation in the granular flowing field attenuates layer after layer. The theory and experiment both substantiate that the density difference is the key factor which leads to the attenuation of vibrating energy. In terms of characteristics of wave propagation one can deduce that vibrating waves have less influence on flowability of granules when the amplitude and frequency are small. However, when the amplitude and frequency increase gradually, the eccentricity of ellipsoid, the viscosity resistance and inner friction among granules, and shear intensity of granules decrease, and the loosening coefficient of granules increases, which shows the granules have better flowability.

A Simple Lumped Mass Model to Describe Velocity of Granular Flows in a Large Flume

This paper presents a lumped mass model to describe the run-out and velocity of a series of large flume tests,which was carried out to investigate some propagation mechanisms involved in rapid,dry,dense granular flows and energy transformation when the flows encountered obstacles and reoriented their movement directions.Comparisons between predicted and measured results show that the trend of predicted velocities was basically matched with that of measured ones.Careful scrutiny of test videos reveals that subsequent particles with a higher velocity collided with slowed fronts to make them accelerate. However,this simple model cannot reflect collisions between particles because it treated released materials as a rigid block.Thus,the predicted velocity was somewhat lower than the measured velocity in most cases.When the flow changed its direction due to the variation in slope inclination,the model predicted a decrease in velocity.The predicted decrease in velocity was less than the measured one within a reasonable range of 10% or less.For some cases in which a convexity was introduced,the model also predicted the same trend of velocities as measured in the tests.The velocity increased greatly after the materials took a ballistic trajectory from the vertex of the convexity,and reduced dramatically when they finally made contact with the base of the lower slope.The difference between prediced and measured decrease in velocity was estimated to be about 5% due to the landing.Therefore,the simple lumped mass model based on the energy approach could roughly predict the run-out and velocity of granular flows,although it neglected internal deformation,intergranular collision and friction.

Saint-Venant Equations and Friction Law for Modelling Self-Channeling Granular Flows: From Analogue to Numerical Simulation

Rock avalanches are catastrophic events involving important granular rock masses (>106 m3) and traveling long distances. In exceptional cases, the runout can reach up to tens of kilometers. Even if they are highly destructive and uncontrollable events, they give important insights to understand interactions between the displaced masses and landscape conditions. However, those events are not frequent. Therefore, the analogue and numerical modelling gives fundamental inputs to better understand their behavior. The objective of the research is to understand the propagation and spreading of granular mass released at the top of a simple geometry. The flow is unconfined, spreading freely along a 45° slope and deposit on a horizontal surface. The evolution of this analogue rock avalanche was measured from the initiation to its deposition with high speed camera. To simulate the analogue granular flow, a numerical model based on the continuum mechanics approach and the solving of the shallow water equations was used. In this model, the avalanche is described from a eulerian point of view within a continuum framework as single phase of incompressible granular material. The interaction of the flowing layer with the substratum follows a Mohr-Coulomb friction law. Within same initial conditions (slope, volume, basal friction, height of fall and initial velocity), results obtained with the numerical model are similar to those observed in the analogue. In both cases, the runout of the mass is comparable and the size of both deposits matches well. Moreover, both analogue and numerical modeling gave same magnitude of velocities. In this study, we highlighted the importance of the friction on a flowing mass and the influence of the numerical resolution on the propagation. The combination of the fluid dynamic equation with the frictional law enables the self-channelization and the stop of the granular mass.

Evaluation of the Impact Force of Dry Granular Flow onto Rock Shed

In the design of rock sheds for the mitigation of risk due to rapid and long landslides, a crucial role is played by the evaluation of the impact force exerted by the flowing mass on the rock sheds. This paper is focused on the influencing factors of the impact force of dry granular flow onto rock shed and in particular on the evaluation of the maximum impact force. The coupled DEM-FEM model calibrated with small-scale physical experiment is used to simulate the movement of dry granular flow coupled with impact forces on the rock-shed. Based on the numerical results, three key stages were identified of impact process, namely startup streams slippery, impact and pile-up. The maximum impact force increases linearly with bulk density, and the maximum impact force exhibits a power law dependence on the impact height and slop angle respectively. The sensitivities of bulk density, impact height, and slope angle on the maximum impact force are: 1.0, 0.496, and 2.32 respectively in the benchmark model. The parameters with high sensitivity should be given priority in the design of the rock shed. The results obtained from this study are useful for facilitating design of shed against dry granular flow.

Complex granular flows of sticky-wet material on flip-flow screens:Calibration of discrete element simulations

Discrete element method(DEM)is an effective approach for studying the screening process of flip-flow screens.However,there have been few studies focusing on the thick layer of sticky-wet particles on flip-flow screens.To achieve accurate simulations of the thick layer of sticky-wet particles on a flip-flow screen,firstly,the movement law of particle flow was studied,and a multi-regime combination cali-bration method based on characteristics of particle flow regimes was proposed.Based on the Plackett-Burman experiment,the curse of dimensionality caused by multi-state and multi-contact parameters was overcome.Subsequently,the lifting cylinder,rotating drum,and trampoline tests were carried out to obtain macroscopic reference values under various granular flow regimes.The calibration results were then determined using the response surface method and climbing algorithm.Finally,the calibration results were tested at both macroscopic and mesoscopic scales and compared with a commonly used calibration method.The results demonstrate that the calibration method,which considers the multi-state characteristics,improves simulation accuracy by 2%-10%and reduces the simulation error to less than 10%,thus meeting the requirements for engineering optimization of flip-flow screens.

Characterisation of the granular dynamics at the interface between a pipe and a granular flow in a rotating drum

A new mobile bed heat exchanger is presented in this work which is composed of a flowing granular material in a rotating drum and a cylindrical pipe with potential interest in different energy applications as cooling,heating or heat recovery processes.An optimal design of the device requires a characterisation of the phenomena involved at the interface between the granular flow and the pipe.The process is modelled by the discrete element method and a global classification of the flow patterns around the pipe is presented with respect to the three main control parameters of the problem:the Froude number,the diameter ratio and the relative filling height of the drum.The second part is devoted to the characterisation of the structure of the flow at the interface(velocity field,density field)in particular in a so-called Biflow regime where granular motion occurs above as well as below the pipe which is favourable to transfer by convection.A typical behavior at the interface with the pipe consists of a zone I with high velocities of particles at the top of the pipe,a second zone with quasistatic particles or low velocity particles at the front and at the bottom of the pipe and a last zone ll of depletion of particles at the back of the pipe.The Froude number has a limited effect on the features of this structure on the first layer in the range of Froude numbers considered whereas the relative height is a more determinant parameter to control the relative magnitude of velocities in zone I and zone Il as well as the extent of the depletion zone.This first hydrodynamical characterisation can shed light on the dynamical regimes with improved transfer between the particles and the pipe boundary.

Mobility and dynamic erosion process of granular flow:insights from numerical investigation using material point method

In order to understand the dynamics of granular flow on an erodible base soil,in this paper,a series of material point method-based granular column collapse tests were conducted to investigate numerically the mobility and dynamic erosion process of granular flow subjected to the complex settings,i.e.,the aspect ratio,granular mass,friction and dilatancy resistance,gravity and presence of water.A set of power scaling laws were proposed to describe the final deposit characteristics of granular flow by the relations of the normalized run-out distance and the normalized final height of granular flow against the aspect ratio,being greatly affected by the complex geological settings,e.g.,granular mass,the friction and dilatancy resistance of granular soil,and presence of water in granular flow.An index of the coefficient of friction of granular soil was defined as a ratio of the target coefficient of friction over the initial coefficient of friction to quantify the scaling extent of friction change(i.e.,friction strengthening or weakening).There is a characteristic aspect ratio of granular column corresponding to the maximum mobility of granular flow with the minimum index of the apparent coefficient of friction.The index of the repose coefficient of friction of granular flow decreased gradually with the increase in aspect ratio because higher potential energy of granular column at a larger aspect ratio causes a larger kinetic energy of granular soil to weaken the friction of granular soil as a kind of velocity-related friction weakening.An increase in granular mass reduces gradually the indexes of the apparent and repose coefficients of friction of granular soil to enhance the mobility of granular flow.The mobility of granular flow increases gradually with the decrease in friction angle or increase in dilatancy angle of granular soil.However,the increase of gravity accelerates granular flow but showing the same final deposit profile without any dependence on gravity.The mobility of granular flow increases gradually by lowering the indexes of the apparent and repose coefficients of friction of granular flow while changing the surroundings,in turn,the dry soil,submerged soil and saturated soil,implying a gradually increased excessive mobility of granular flow with the friction weakening of granular soil.Presence of water in granular flow may be a potential catalyzer to yield a long run-out granular flow,as revealed in comparison of water-absent and water-present granular flows.In addition,the dynamic erosion and entrainment of based soil induced by granular flow subjected to the complex geological settings,i.e.,the aspect ratio,granular mass,gravity,friction and dilatancy resistance,and presence of water,were comprehensively investigated as well.

DEM simulation of particle mixing in a sheared granular flow

Mixing behaviors of particles are simulated in a sheared granular flow using differently colored but otherwise identical glass spheres, with five different bottom wall velocities. By DEM simulation, the solid fractions, velocities, velocity fluctuations and granular temperatures are measured. The mixing layer thicknesses are compared with the calculations from a simple diffusion equation using the data of apparent self-diffusion coefficients obtained from the current simulation measurements. The calculations and simulation results showed good agreements, demonstrating that the mixing process of granular materials occurred through the diffusion mechanism.

Numerical investigation of granular flow similarity in rotating drums

The theory of flow similarity has not been well established for granular flows, in contrast to the case for conventional fluids, owing to a lack of reliable and general constitutive laws for their continuum descrip- tion. A rigorous investigation of the similarity of velocity fields in different granular systems would he valuable to theoretical studies. However, experimental measurements face technological and physical problems. Numerical simulations that employ the discrete element method （DEM） may be an alterna- tive to experiments by providing similar results, where quantitative analysis could be implemented with virtually no limitation. In this study, the similarity of velocity fields is investigated for the rolling regime of rotating drums by conducting simulations based on the DEM and using graphics processing units. For a constant Froude number, it is found that the particle-to-drum size ratio plays a dominant role in the determination of the velocity field, while the velocity field is much more sensitive to some material properties than to others. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of establishing theoretical similarity laws for granular flows.

DISCRETE AND CONTINUUM MODELLING OF GRANULAR FLOW

This paper analyses three popular methods simulating granular flow at different time and length scales： discrete element method （DEM）, averaging method and viscous, elastic-plastic continuum model. The theoretical models of these methods and their applications to hopper flows are discussed. It is shown that DEM is an effective method to study the fundamentals of granular flow at a particle or microscopic scale. By use of the continuum approach, granular flow can also be described at a continuum or macroscopic scale. Macroscopic quantities such as velocity and stress can be obtained by use of such computational method as FEM. However, this approach depends on the constitutive relationship of materials and ignores the effect of microscopic structure of granular flow. The combined approach of DEM and averaging method can overcome this problem. The approach takes into account the discrete nature of granular materials and does not require any global assumption and thus allows a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of granular flow. However, it is difficult to adapt this approach to process modelling because of the limited number of particles which can be handled with the present computational capacity, and the difficulty in handling non-spherical particles. Further work is needed to develoo an aoorooriate aooroach to overcome these problems.