Mechanics of Flowing Granular Media

Citation

Pearce, James Charles (1976) Mechanics of Flowing Granular Media. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/46HR-Q850. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:04072017-102157703

Abstract

The flow of a frictional, cohesive solid through plane converging channels with Coulomb friction acting along the channel walls is investigated. The constitutive postulates used in the development of the solution are discussed and the solution is compared with those obtained by earlier investigators. Velocity profiles, mass flow rates, and mean stress distributions along the channel walls predicted by the analysis are compared with experimental results. The solution correctly predicts the trend of the mass flow rate as a function of the channel opening angle as well as the magnitude of the mass flow rate in terms of the flow parameters. The solution also gives an accurate measure of the mean stress acting along the channel walls.

The problem of predicting the size of the cavity formed below a cylinder in the transverse flow of a frictional, cohesionless material is investigated experimentally. A correlation which gives the lower separation angle as a function of the flow parameters is determined.

Finally, the temperature distribution in the wake of a heated cylinder in the transverse flow of a granular material is investigated experimentally and spanwise temperature profiles are given as a function of downstream location.

The information gained from the experimental investigation is intended to be of use in the design of heat exchanger equipment for granular media.

Thesis Files