Friction effect on the dynamics of unsteady two-phase solid-liquid flow down a flume

A laboratory-scale flume has been developed and integrated with a high-speed image acquisition system to investigate the unsteady bulk motion of a dry and a wet granular mixture. Monatomic Polyoxymethylene (POM) spheres and water are employed to prepare the experimental materials. n image analysis routine has been developed to achieve efficient tracking for the individual particles within a moving bulk. Special efforts are made to examine how the coexisting liquid modifies the flow properties of a wet mixture from that exhibits by the dry bulk. The basal friction and the corresponding friction coefficients, that are typically difficult to measure, are estimated using image analysis and control volume analysis.