(265c) Preliminary Numerical Simulations of the Flow of Frictional-Cohesive Granular Materials through Bins

The paper reports on preliminary results from numerical simulations of the flow of cohesive granular materials through bins. The properties of the bulk material are assumed to follow a Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. The model employs a Particle-In-Cell (PIC) advection scheme, and an explicit finite difference solution of the governing equations. The results for frictional cohesionless materials display the commonly observed features of the funnel flow regime. Examples of the distribution of solids volume fraction, pressure and velocity are presented. Introducing cohesion is found to reduce the flow rate. The exit velocity decreases with increasing value of the cohesion. When a sufficiently large value of cohesion is used, the aperture is blocked, and the flow stops.