Dense granular flow around an immersed cylinder

The flow around a fixed cylinder immersed in a uniform granular flow is studied experimentally. Experiments are performed in a tall vertical chute producing a quasi two-dimensional granular flow. A storage bin at the top of the chute feeds glass particles into the channel while the mean velocity of the flow is controlled by varying the exit width of a hopper located at the channel bottom. Measurements of the drag force acting on a fixed cylinder are made using a strain gauge force measurement system. The flow velocity field is measured through a transparent wall using a particle image velocimetry analysis of high speed video recordings of the flow. Experiments are performed for a range of upstream particle velocities, cylinder diameters, and two sizes of glass particles. For the range of velocities studied, the mean drag force acting on the cylinder is independent of the mean flow velocity, contrary to what is expected from any ordinary fluid. The drag force increases with cylinder diameter and decreases with particle diameter. The drag force scales with the asymptotic static stress state in a tall granular bed. The drag coefficient, defined in terms of a dynamic pressure and an effective cylinder diameter, scales with the flow Froude number based on the hydraulic diameter of the channel. This analysis indicates that the drag acting on the cylinder is strongly affected by the surrounding channel geometry. Although the drag force on the cylinder does not change with the upstream flow velocity, the flow streamlines do change with velocity. A large stagnation zone forms at the leading edge of the cylinder while at the trailing edge an empty wake is observed. The wake size increases with flow velocity. Measurements of the flow vorticity and granular temperature are also presented and discussed. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.