Volume fraction and velocity fields of nearly uniform granular flows in a narrow channel geometry with smooth bed

Abstract The combined knowledge of the velocity and volume fraction fields is crucial for investigating the dynamics of granular flows, especially in the dense-collisional regime where both frictional and collisional dissipation mechanisms are significant. A laboratory investigation on steady dry granular flows in a straight channel is reported, where slip conditions are allowed at the basal surface and side walls. The stochastic-optical method (SOM), proposed by Sarno et al. (2016) for estimating the volume fraction in granular mixtures, is applied for the first time to granular flows. The velocity at the free surface and at the flume sidewall is measured by using a multi-pass particle image velocimetry (PIV) approach. The measurements of the velocity and volume fraction reveal a superimposition of different dynamic structures, which can be distinguished by means of a volume fraction threshold. Additionally, the profiles of measured volume fraction are exploited to estimate the pressure distribution, so as to numerically describe the velocity profiles by using the μ(I) rheology. It is found that the employment of the experimental volume fraction is superior in describing the flow dynamics, especially near the free surface.