Experimental Study of Flow and Heat Transfer in Granular Media

In this paper, granular flow is studied using particle image velocimetry (PIV) in two different geometries, that is, rectangular box and cylindrical bladed mixer. Effects of parameters like blade rake angle, bed height, moisture content, and the number of blades were studied. The shear rate and velocity magnitude of granular bed were calculated using PIV. The presence of moisture in the granular bed added additional cohesive forces and reduced shear rate between different layers of particles. Shear rate and shear forces were maximal at the tip of the blade. Temperature variations in the granular bed were measured experimentally and results were compared for static and mixing beds. In this study, we used particle image velocimetry to examine the flow of granular media in a rectangular box and vertical cylindrical mixer. The effects of parameters like particle bed height, moisture content, blade angle, and number of blades were studied. Heat transfer was also studied experimentally in the cylindrical mixer through heated walls.