The Inclusion of Friction in Lattice-Based Cellular Automata Modeling of Granular Flows

Abstract

Granular flows continue to be a complex problem in nature and industrial sectors where solid particles exhibit solid, liquid, and gaseous behavior, in a manner which is often unpredictable locally or globally. In tribology, they have also been proposed as lubricants because of their liquid-like behavior in sliding contacts and due to their ability to carry loads and accommodate surface velocities. The present work attempts to model a granular Couette flow using a lattice-based cellular automata computational modeling approach. Cellular automata (CA) is a modeling platform for obtaining fast first-order approximations of the properties of many physical systems. The CA framework has the flexibility to employ rule-based mathematics, first-principle physics, or both to rapidly model physical processes, such as granular flows. The model developed in this work incorporates dissipative effects due to friction between particles and between particles and boundaries, in addition to the derivative effects of friction, namely particle spin. This new model also includes a rigorous and physically relevant treatment of boundary–particle interactions. The current work compares this new friction and spin inclusive CA model and the author’s previous frictionless CA model against experimental results for an annular shear cell. The effects of granular collision properties were also examined through parametric studies on particle–particle coefficient of restitution (COR) and coefficient of friction (COF), which is a unique and added capability of the friction inclusive model.