Scaling laws in granular flows down rough inclined planes

Abstract

In this paper, new scaling properties for granular flows down rough inclined planes are presented. In the dense steady uniform flow regime, we have systematically measured the mean velocity of the flow as a function of the inclination of the surface θ and of the thickness h of the layer. The results obtained for different systems of beads corresponding to different surface roughness conditions are shown to collapse into a single curve when properly scaled. The scaling is based on the measurement of the minimum thickness hstop(θ) necessary to observe a steady uniform flow at inclination θ. From this experimental observation an empirical description for granular flows down inclined planes is proposed in terms of a dynamic friction coefficient.