Granular focused jet

TL;DR

This study explores the formation and dynamics of granular focused jets, comparing them with liquid jets, revealing shared mechanisms and unique dissipation effects in granular media through experiments and simulations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that granular focused jets are driven by kinematic focusing similar to liquids, with distinct velocity behaviors influenced by grain interactions and energy dissipation.

Findings

Granular jets form from nonfluidized beds via kinematic focusing.

Jet velocity decreases with pile height in granular media, unlike in liquids.

Simulations show grain contacts dissipate energy, reducing jet velocity.

Abstract

We investigated the formation of granular focused jets defined as narrow upward ejections of grains triggered by impulsive forces and shaped by kinematic focusing on a concave free surface. The jets were generated from nonfluidized granular beds, in contrast to existing granular Worthington jets that originate from fluidized layers. To elucidate the jet dynamics, we performed experiments in which a test tube partially filled with dry glass beads was dropped onto a flat rigid floor, systematically varying the granular pile height$L_{\rm G}$, drop height $H$, and particle size. The resulting jet formation in granular media was driven by the same kinematic focusing mechanism responsible for jetting in liquids. By conducting parallel experiments using low-viscosity silicone oil under identical conditions, we directly compared the granular and liquid jets. At low pile heights, the granular jet velocity quantitatively agreed with the liquid jet velocity. However, at high pile heights, contrasting trends emerged. Specifically, the granular jet velocity decreased with increasing $L_{\rm G}$, while the liquid jet velocity increased due to cavitation. Discrete element method simulations confirmed that the velocity reduction in granular jets arose from energy dissipation via grain--grain contacts during impact force propagation. These findings highlight common mechanisms and distinctive dissipation behaviors in granular and liquid focused jets.