Statistical properties of gravity-driven granular discharge flow under the influence of an obstacle

Abstract: Two-dimensional granular discharge flow driven by gravity under the influence of an obstacle is experimentally investigated. A horizontal exit of width $W$ is opened at the bottom of vertical Hele-Shaw cell filled with stainless-steel particles to start the discharge flow. In this experiment, a circular obstacle is placed in front of the exit. Thus, the distance between the exit and obstacle $L$ is also an important parameter. During the discharge, granular-flow state is acquired by a high-speed camera. The bulk discharge-flow rate is also measured by load cell sensors. The obtained high-speed-image data are analyzed to clarify the particle-level granular-flow dynamics. Using the measured data, we find that the obstacle above the exit affects the granular-flow field. Specifically, the existence of obstacle results in large horizontal granular temperature and small packing fraction. This tendency becomes significant when $L$ is smaller than approximately 6$D_g$ when $W \simeq 4 D_g$, where $D_g$ is diameter of particles.