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Flow of buoyant granular materials along a free surface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2018

Zhong Zheng Open the ORCID record for Zhong Zheng [Opens in a new window] ,
Herbert E. Huppert ,
Nathalie M. Vriend ,
Jerome A. Neufeld  and
P. F. Linden
Zhong Zheng*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK BP Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK
Herbert E. Huppert
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
Nathalie M. Vriend
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
Jerome A. Neufeld
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK BP Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK
P. F. Linden
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
*
†Email address for correspondence: zzheng@alumni.princeton.edu
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Abstract

We study experimentally the flow of light granular material along the free surface of a liquid of greater density. Despite a rich set of related geophysical and environmental phenomena, such as the spreading of calved ice, volcanic ash, debris and industrial wastes, there are few previous studies on this topic. We conduct a series of lock-release experiments of buoyant spherical beads into a rectangular tank initially filled with either fresh or salt water, and record the time evolution of the interface shape and the front location of the current of beads. We find that following the release of the lock the front location obeys a power-law behaviour during an intermediate time period before the nose of beads reaches a maximum runout distance within a finite time. We investigate the dependence of the scaling exponent and runout distance on the total amount of beads, the initial lock length, and the properties of the liquid that fills the tank in the experiments. Scaling arguments are provided to collapse the experimental data into universal curves, which can be used to describe the front dynamics of buoyant granular flows with different size and buoyancy effects and initial lock aspect ratios.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Geophysical and Geological Flows Granular media: Granular media Geophysical and Geological Flows: Gravity currents
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 848 , 10 August 2018 , pp. 312 - 339
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Copyright
© 2018 Cambridge University Press 

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