Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Constant Flux Bidensity Particle Laden Flows on an Incline

Previous research [Lee et. al. 2014, Wong et. al. 2016] shows that gravitational and shear forces play an important role on the dynamics of particle laden flows down an incline. These effects can be characterized by two regimes, settled and ridged. In the past, experimental results were focused on the finite volume case for one and two species of particles, whereas we change the initial conditions to consider the constant flux case with the aid of a pump. Our experiments on bidensity slurries contain two negatively buoyant species with the same diameter and different densities. We develop numerical simulations of the mathematical model which are validated through the experimental comparisons, showing the front position evolving as x(t) ~ t. We also produce a phase diagram indicating the transition between the settled and ridged regimes, obtained through a careful study varying the angle of inclination and volume ratio between particles. Additional comparisons include measurements of the film height, the time required for a regime to emerge, among others.