Cohesive Granular Flow

Cohesive granular materials exhibit complex dynamics because attractive forces can bind individual particles into agglomerates and transient structures. These interactions influence how grains rearrange, deform, compact, and resist external forcing across a wide range of conditions. The resulting behavior may include clustering, arching, intermittent avalanching, shear localization, and changes in the transition between solid-like and fluid-like states. Cohesion also modifies the transmission of stresses through the material, producing flow patterns that differ substantially from those observed in non-cohesive granular systems. Understanding the relationship between microscopic particle interactions and macroscopic flow behavior is important for describing the transport, mixing, separation, and processing of particulate materials. Projects include investigating the motion of cohesive granular media in a rotating drum, where the evolving free surface provides a clear setting for observing their collective dynamics.