Characterization of the flowability dynamics of granular material flowing down a narrow channel--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Wang, N., Lu, H., Xu, J., Guo, X., & Liu, H. (2020). Characterization of the flowability dynamics of granular material flowing down a narrow channel. Particuology, 53, 72-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2020.01.004

Characterization of the flowability dynamics of granular material flowing down a narrow channel

Ningsheng Wang ^{a b c}, Haifeng Lu ^{a b}, Jianliang Xu ^{a b}, Xiaolei Guo ^{a b}, Haifeng Liu ^{a b}^*

a Key Laboratory of Coal Gasification and Energy Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 272, Shanghai 200237, China
b Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Coal Gasification, East China University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 272, Shanghai 200237, China
c Ningbo Ruiling Institute for Energy and Environment Solutions, Ningbo 315500, China

10.1016/j.partic.2020.01.004

Volume 53, December 2020, Pages 72-82

Received 7 October 2018, Revised 23 December 2019, Accepted 28 January 2020, Available online 1 April 2020, Version of Record 16 December 2020.

E-mail: hfliu@ecust.edu.cn

Highlights

• Granular flow in a narrow channel is studied.

• Five different granular materials with differently shaped particles were used.

• Their flowabilities were differentiated by measuring flow parameters.

• A universal dynamic constant for granular material flowability is proposed.

Abstract

The flowability of granular material is commonly determined from shear cell tests, but in the real world, the granular flow is quite different in many cases. For this paper, the flowabilities in a narrow channel of five different granular materials were investigated. The flow parameters of the granular flows were determined to classify the flowabilities. Granular flow surface velocities and flow heights and thicknesses were measured, and it was found that the mean shear rates in the linear portions of the velocity profiles increase with both flow rates and inclination. A universal parameter, the ratio of the sine of the inclination to the shear rate in the linear part of the velocity profile, is proposed as a constant. This constant is independent of particle properties. In addition, a flowability parameter, the ratio of the mean shear rate to the cosine of the inclination, is proposed to characterize the friction between the particles in the flowing granular material.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Dynamic characterization; Granular flow; Velocity profile; Flowability; Channel

文章导读