A continuum-kinetic theory approach to the rapid flow of granular materials: the effects of volume fraction gradient

We study the fully developed flow of granular materials down an inclined plane. The model uses ideas from both continuum and kinetic theories, where the form of the constitutive relation for the stress tensor is derived using standard techniques in continuum mechanics (cf. Rajagopal and Massoudi, DOE Report, DOE/PETC/TR-90/3, 1990); the material properties are derived using the kinetic theory approximation proposed by Boyle and Massoudi (Int. J. Eng. Sci. 28 (1990) 1261-1275), which includes the effects of the gradient of the volume fraction. The equations are nondimensionalized and the system of non-linear ordinary differential equations is solved numerically. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.