Objective
The flow of granular materials such as sand is ubiquitous in both industry and nature. The importance of understanding such flows is clear when it is estimated that a large fraction of the US gross domestic product is spent handling granular materials and that most facilities typically operate well below efficiency. Even a small improvement in our understanding of granular media behaviour could have a profound impact on EU industry. The research proposed here is concerned with improving our understanding of how granular materials respond to tangential boundary stresses. A recent experiment has revealed completely unexpected behaviour which we propose to interpret using a continuum model based upon conservation laws of mass, energy and momentum augmented by constitutive relations.
An efficient and general numerical solver using pseudo-spectral techniques will be developed to solve the resulting set of partial differential equations. The influence of incorporating or removing various physical effects will be assessed by comparing the model solution against the distinctive features of the data. Initially the response of a Newtonian fluid will be examined by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. Then non-Newtonian effects will be investigated by adopting a non-linear relationship between stress and strain in the material and finally constitutive laws, which incorporate the granular temperature, will be studied.
The objective is to isolate the simplest continuum theory, which predicts the key features of the data with the aim of then correctly predicting behaviour in other granular systems. Appreciating when a continuum description of a granular flow is valid is perhaps the fundamental question in the study of granular materials today. The proposed research will attempt to answer this question for one fascinating system, which shows truly novel behaviour and should provide insight into the physics of other sheared granular systems.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences condensed matter physics soft matter physics
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics mathematical analysis differential equations partial differential equations
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-5
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
BRISTOL
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.