Unsaturated wet granular flows over a rough incline: frictional and cohesive rheology

Abstract

Multi-phase flows encountered in nature or in industry, exhibit non trivial rheological properties, that can be understood better thanks to model materials and appropriate rheometers. Here, we use model unsaturated granular materials: assemblies of frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid, over a rough inclined plane. Our results show steady uniform flows for a wide range of parameters (the inclination angle and the mass flow-rate). A theoretical model, based on the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion extended to inertial flows: $\tau$ = $\tau$c + $\mu$(I)P, in which $\tau$c and $\mu$(I) are the cohesion stress and the internal friction coefficient respectively, gives predictions in quantitative agreement with experimental measurements only when one considers that dry and wet samples have straightforwardly different internal friction commonly described by the so-called $\mu$(I)-rheology. The liquid bridges bounding grains not only induce cohesion, but modify the internal friction of the wet assemblies.