(189b) Simulating the Formation of Granular Jets

This study focuses on simulating the formation and growth of granular jets under the impact of a heavy intruder on a bed of small particles. A discrete particle method to track the motion of 150 million individual particles in the bed, coupled with computational fluid dynamics to model the motion of the surrounding air, are used to obtain these predictions. The numerical results agreed with experimental observation that the height of jet diminishes from atmospheric to vacuum conditions. This is the first time the formation and growth of a tall granular jet is predicted numerically. Besides solving an unsolved problem, this study seeks to further explain the mechanisms behind the formation of a granular jet because numerical simulations allow detailed analysis of the flow that may be difficult to acquire with experimentation alone.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.0c00808