Obstacle-shape effect in a two-dimensional granular silo flow field

K Endo and KA Reddy and H Katsuragi, PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, 2, 094302 (2017).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.2.094302

We conduct a simple experiment and numerical simulation of two- dimensional granular discharge flow driven by gravity under the influence of an obstacle. According to previous work Zuriguel et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 278001 (2011), the clogging of granular discharge flow can be suppressed by putting a circular obstacle at a proper position. In order to investigate the details of the obstacle effect in granular flow, we focus on particle dynamics in this study. From the experimental and numerical data, we find that the obstacle remarkably affects the horizontal-velocity distribution and packing fraction in the vicinity of the exit. In addition to the circular obstacle, we utilize triangular, inverted-triangular, and horizontal-bar obstacles to discuss the obstacle-shape effect in granular discharge flow. Based on the investigation of dynamical quantities such as velocity distributions, granular temperature, and volume fraction, we find that the triangular obstacle or horizontal bar could be very effective in preventing the clogging. From the result obtained, we consider that the detouring of particles around the obstacle and resultant low packing fraction at the exit region effectively prevent the clogging in a certain class of granular discharge flow.

Return to Publications page