Measurement of Force in Granular Flow Past Cylindrical Models for Various Inclination Angle

Abstract

Granular flows are observed in natural processes such as landslides, snow avalanches and exhibit inhomogeneous stress distribution. Forces applied by snow avalanches on obstacles such as large electric poles, aerial lifts, cable cars, etc. need to be taken into account in the design of its construction. In granular media, drag is a function of model geometry (D), grain size (d), inclination angle (ϕ) and mass flux (m). The objective of the present study is to analyze the force variation and flow behavior past standard geometries. For lab scale experiments, a novel granular flow chute is fabricated to facilitate the force measurement and shock wave visualization for various channel inclinations. Experiments are carried out on cylinders with different diameters. Unlike previous studies reported in the literature, the chute is kept at different inclination angles. The storage hopper is placed on the top of the chute and feeds glass particles into the channel at a specific mass flux. Velocity profiles are estimated using the particle image velocimetry method. The force acting on the models is measured using the strain gauge force measurement system. Studies show that the force acting on the cylinder is independent of the mean flow velocity and that the force increases with cylinder diameter for the vertical channel.