Rheology of Thickly-Coated Granular-Fluid Systems

Abstract: We investigate the link between particle-scale dynamics and bulk behaviors of thickly-coated particle-fluid flows using computational simulations. We find that, similar to dense fully-saturated slurries, the form the rheology takes in these systems can carry signatures of interparticle collisions and/or interparticle viscous dynamics that vary solid fraction. However, we find significant qualitative and quantitative differences in the transitions of the system between what might be called viscous, collisional, and visco-collisional behaviors. We show how these transitions arise from changes in the fabric,' e.g. strong force network, and thegranular temperature,' or fluctuation energy, and suggest extension of these frameworks to better elucidate other particle-fluid behaviors.