Hydrodynamic modeling of granular flows in a modified Couette cell

Pierre Jop (1, 2)

1 LPMCN - Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée et Nanostructures
2 IUSTI - Institut universitaire des systèmes thermiques industriels

We present simulations of granular flows in a modified Couette cell, using a continuum model recently proposed for dense granular flows. Based on a friction coefficient, which depends on an inertial number, the model captures the positions of the wide shear bands. We show that a smooth transition in velocity-profile shape occurs when increasing the height of the granular material, leading to a differential rotation of the central part close to the surface. The numerical predictions are in qualitative agreement with previous experimental results. The model provides predictions for the increase of the shear bands width when increasing the rotation rate.

Mots clés: granular flow; shear band; rheology

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]

Pierre Jop. Hydrodynamic modeling of granular flows in a modified Couette cell. 2007. ⟨hal-00199769⟩