We study the transport properties of particles draining from a silo using imaging and direct particle tracking. The particle displacements show a universal transition from superdiffusion to normal diffusion, as a function of the distance fallen, independent of the flow speed. In the superdiffusive (but sub-ballistic) regime, which occurs before a particle falls through its diameter, the displacements have fat-tailed and anisotropic distributions. In the diffusive regime, we observe very slow cage breaking and Péclet numbers of order 100, contrary to the only previous microscopic model (based on diffusing voids). Overall, our experiments show that diffusion and mixing are dominated by geometry, consistent with long-lasting contacts but not thermal collisions, as in normal fluids.

• Received 8 August 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.174301