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Granular configurations, motions, and correlations in slow uniform flows driven by an inclined conveyor belt

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Abstract

The present experimental study examines the behaviour of slow granular flows, focusing on the details of particle patterns and motions over the depth of a sheared layer. A conveyor belt circuit enclosed in an inclined flume is used to generate steady uniform open-channel flows of dry granules. Particle positions near the transparent sidewall are extracted from video sequences. The Voronoï diagram is then used to characterise the configurations formed by neighbouring grains and to assist particle tracking over successive frames. This allows a qualitative visualisation of the internal structure of the flowing layer, as well as quantitative measurements of lattice defect density and granular velocities at different depths. The response of the depth profiles to different conveyor belt speeds is examined. In addition to the mean and fluctuating velocities, we probe the time and space correlations of the fluctuations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

    A. T. H. Perng

  2. Department of Civil Engineering and Hydrotech Research Institute, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

    H. Capart

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan

    H. T. Chou

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  1. A. T. H. Perng
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  2. H. Capart
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  3. H. T. Chou
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A. T. H. Perng - Former affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan

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Perng, A., Capart, H. & Chou, H. Granular configurations, motions, and correlations in slow uniform flows driven by an inclined conveyor belt. Granular Matter 8, 5–17 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-005-0213-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-005-0213-2

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