New patterns in high-speed granular flows

We report on new patterns in high-speed flows of granular materials obtained by means of extensive numerical simulations. These patterns emerge from the destabilization of unidirectional flows upon increase of mass holdup and inclination angle, and are characterized by complex internal structures, including secondary flows, heterogeneous particle volume fraction, symmetry breaking and dynamically maintained order. In particular, we evidenced steady and fully developed ‘supported’ flows, which consist of a dense core surrounded by a highly energetic granular gas. Interestingly, despite their overall diversity, these regimes are shown to obey a scaling law for the mass flow rate as a function of the mass holdup. This unique set of three-dimensional flow regimes raises new challenges for extending the scope of current granular rheological models.