Effect of random forcing in the rheology of granular simple flows

Abstract

We present in this work the evidence of a new type of steady flows in volume‐heated granular gases at low densities. The granular gas is heated in its volume by the action of a stochastic thermostat (white noise). The flow of interest belongs to a class of flows that we call ‘LTu’ class. This class was also observed recently in granular gases heated and sheared from the boundaries. We prove now that in volume‐heated granular sheared gases, LTu flows at large inelasticities do also exist and that we can find, for the first time, inelastic Fourier flows belonging to the class. Furthermore, we show that LTu flows in volume‐heated granular gases can be made to fall into the Navier‐Stokes regime, since non‐linear effects can be annihilated if noise intensity is large enough. This means we can find for the first time LTu Newtonian flows, including USF, independently of the value of inelasticity in the collisions. Our work is based on theoretical considerations and Monte Carlo simulations of the Boltzmann equation (DSMC) for the granular gas.