Granular Flow in a Vertically Vibrating Hopper

The behavior of the flow of glass spheres in a vertically vibrating hopper is examined. A two-dimensional hopper is mounted on a shaker that provides sinusoidal, vertical vibrations. Both the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations are adjustable. Hopper discharge rates and flow patterns are measured as the acceleration amplitude of the vibrations is increased from 0 to 4g's. Comparisons are made with unvibrated hopper flows and with a two-dimensional discrete element simulation model

Effects of horizontal vibration on hopper flows of granular materials

The current experiments investigate the discharge of glass spheres in a planar wedge-shaped hopper (45 degree sidewalls) that is vibrated hoizontally. When the hopper is discharged without vibration, the discharge occurs as a funnel flow, with the material exiting the central region of the hopper and stagnant material along the sides. With horizontal vibration, the discharge rate increases with the velocity of vibration as compared with the discharge rate without vibration. For a certain range of acceleration parameters (20-30 Hz and accelerations greater than about 1 g), the discharge of the material occurs in an inverted-funnel pattern, with the material along the sides exiting first, followed by the material in the core; the free surface shows a peak at the center of the hopper with the free surface particles avalanching from the center toward the sides. During the deceleration phase of a vibration cycle, particles all along the trailing or low-pressure wall separate from the surface and fall under gravity for a short period before reconnecting the hopper. For lower frequencies (5 and 10 Hz), the free surface remains horizontal and the material appears to discharge uniformly from the hopper

Effects of Horizontal Vibration on Hopper Flows of Granular Material

This study experimentally examines the flow of glass spheres in a wedge-shaped hopper that is vibrated hoizontally. When the hopper is discharged without vibration, discharge occurs as a funnel flow, with the material exiting the central region of the hopper and stagnant material along the sides. With vibration, the discharge of the material occurs in reverse, with the material along the sides exiting first, followed by the material in the central region. These patterns are observed with flow visualization and high-speed photography. The study also includes measurements of the discharge rate, which increases with the amplitude of the velocity of vibration

Effects of vertical vibration on hopper flows of granular material

The discharge of granular material from a hopper subject to vertical sinusoidal oscillations was investigated using experiments and discrete element computer simulations. With the hopper exit closed, side-wall convection cells are observed, oriented such that particles move up along the inclined walls of the hopper and down at the center line. The convection cells are a result of the granular bed dilation during free fall and the subsequent interaction with the hopper walls. The mass discharge rate for a vibrating hopper scaled by the discharge rate without vibration reaches a maximum value at a dimensionless velocity amplitude just greater than 1. Further increases in the velocity decrease the discharge rate. The decrease occurs due to a decrease in the bulk density of the discharging material when vibration is applied

Vertical Oscillation of a Bed of Granular Material

A bed of granular material which is subjected to vertical vibration will exhibit at least one sudden expansion at a critical acceleration amplitude. This sudden expansion corresponds to a bifurcation similar to that exhibited by a single ball bouncing on a vibrating plate. Theoretical analysis based on this model yields results which are in accord with the experimental observations. Other bifurcations may occur at higher vibration levels

Mechanism for Surface Waves in Vibrated Granular Material

We use molecular dynamics simulations to study the formation of surface waves in vertically vibrated granular material. We find that horizontal movements of particles, which are essential for the formation of the waves, consist of two distinct processes. First, the movements sharply increase while the particles are colliding with a bottom plate, where the duration of the collisions is very short compared to the period of the vibration. Next, the movements gradually decrease between the collisions, during which the particles move through the material. We also find that the horizontal velocity field after the collisions is strongly correlated to the surface profile before the collisions.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures (included

Vertical Side Wall Convection in Deep Beds of Granular Material Subjected to Vertical, Sinusoidal Oscillations

When a deep bed of granular material is subjected to vertical, sinusoidal oscillations, a number of interesting phenomena appear including heaps, convection cells, surface waves, and arches. This paper examines the convection cell phenomena associated with vertical side walls using two-dimensional discrete element simulations. Measurements from the simulations indicate that when the container aspect ratio, defined as the depth of the granular bed, H, divided by the width of the container, W, is large, convection cells interact and the boundary layer width of the downward flow of particles against the walls varies linearly with the container width. However, when the container aspect ratio [is] small and the convection cells do not interact, the boundary layer width remains at a nearly constant value of ten particle diameters. Other simulation measurements show that the vertical location of the convection cell center remains close to the free surface regardless of container aspect ratio. Additional measurements show that the particle flow rate per oscillation cycle in the boundary layer increases with increasing vibration amplitude and velocity. Lastly, the asymmetric drag mechanism proposed as the cause of the side wall convection cells is briefly examined

Vertical Vibration of a Deep Bed of Granular Material in a Container

A deep bed of granular material (more than six layers of particles) was subjected to sinusoidal, vertical vibrations. Several phenomena were observed depending on the amplitude of excitation. These included heaping, surface waves, and arching; the transitions from one state to another involved various dynamic instabilites and bifurcations. The paper includes a description of these phenomena and the characteristic properties associated with each in addition to measurements of the transitions from one phenomena to another

Phase Bubbles and Spatiotemporal Chaos in Granular Patterns

We use inelastic hard sphere molecular dynamics simulations and laboratory experiments to study patterns in vertically oscillated granular layers. The simulations and experiments reveal that {\em phase bubbles} spontaneously nucleate in the patterns when the container acceleration amplitude exceeds a critical value, about $7g$, where the pattern is approximately hexagonal, oscillating at one-fourth the driving frequency ($f/4$). A phase bubble is a localized region that oscillates with a phase opposite (differing by $\pi$) to that of the surrounding pattern; a localized phase shift is often called an {\em arching} in studies of two-dimensional systems. The simulations show that the formation of phase bubbles is triggered by undulation at the bottom of the layer on a large length scale compared to the wavelength of the pattern. Once formed, a phase bubble shrinks as if it had a surface tension, and disappears in tens to hundreds of cycles. We find that there is an oscillatory momentum transfer across a kink, and this shrinking is caused by a net collisional momentum inward across the boundary enclosing the bubble. At increasing acceleration amplitudes, the patterns evolve into randomly moving labyrinthian kinks (spatiotemporal chaos). We observe in the simulations that $f/3$ and $f/6$ subharmonic patterns emerge as primary instabilities, but that they are unstable to the undulation of the layer. Our experiments confirm the existence of transient $f/3$ and $f/6$ patterns.Comment: 6 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. E on July 1st, 2001. for better quality figures, visit http://chaos.ph.utexas.edu/research/moo