High-Speed Granular Chute Flows

Abstract:

Accurate models for high speed granular flows are critical for understanding long runout landslides and rockfalls. However reproducible experimental data is extremely limited and is mostly only available for steady state flows on moderate inclinations. We report on experiments over a much greater range of slope angles 30-50 degrees and flow depths 4-130 particle diameters with upto 20kg/s of sand flowing steadily. The data suggests that friction can be much larger than the $\mu(I)$ rheology or kinetic theories predict and suggest and that there may be constant velocity states above the angle of vanishing hstop. We show similar high speed steady flows at angles up to 50 degress in Discrete Element Simuations and discuss how these can be understood theoretically.