Mechanisms of Granular Spontaneous Stratification and Segregation in Two-Dimensional Silos

Abstract

Spontaneous stratification of granular mixtures has been reported by Makse et al. [Nature 386, 379 (1997)] when a mixture of grains differing in size and shape is poured in a quasi-two-dimensional heap. We study this phenomenon using two different approaches. First, we introduce a cellular automaton model that illustrates clearly the physical mechanism; the model displays stratification whenever the large grains are rougher than the small grains, in agreement with the experiments. Moreover, the dynamics are close to those of the experiments, where the layers are built through a ``kink'' at which the rolling grains are stopped. Second, we develop a continuum approach, based on a recently introduced set of coupled equations for surface flows of granular mixtures that allows us to make quantitative predictions for relevant quantities. We study the continuum model in two limit regimes: the large flux or thick flow regime, where the percolation effect (i.e., segregation of the rolling grains in the flow) is important, and the small flux or thin flow regime, where all the rolling grains are in contact with the surface of the sandpile. We find that the wavelength of the layers behaves linearly with the flux of grains. We obtain analytical predictions for the shape of the kink giving rise to stratification as well as the profile of the rolling and static species when segregation of the species is observed.