Measurement of particle motions within tumbling granular flows

Abstract

Flowing granular materials are complex, industrially important, and scientifically provocative. In this paper we report measurements of granular transport in 3-dimensional tumbling containers. We use magnetic resonance imaging techniques for direct tracking of particles and measure the interior flows of granular materials. One goal is to measure industrial mixer performance over a wide range of conditions. As the mixer geometries are relatively simple, such measurements could serve as incisive tests during development of better granular equations of motion.