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Wormhole formation in fluid-driven granular flow
Communications Physics, Volume: 8, Start page: 468
Swansea University Authors:
Miles Morgan, Bjornar Sandnes
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© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1038/s42005-025-02366-w
Abstract
Fluid-driven flow of granular material leads to complex behaviour and emergent instabilities in many natural and industrial settings. However, the effect of using fluid flow to vertically drive a dense bed of sedimenting grains is not well documented. Here we find contrasting behaviours in a submerg...
| Published in: | Communications Physics |
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| ISSN: | 2399-3650 |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2025
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70646 |
| Abstract: |
Fluid-driven flow of granular material leads to complex behaviour and emergent instabilities in many natural and industrial settings. However, the effect of using fluid flow to vertically drive a dense bed of sedimenting grains is not well documented. Here we find contrasting behaviours in a submerged fluid-driven silo, including fingering patterns, porous flow, classical silo flow, and the formation of straight, semi-dilute wormhole-like channels. Once formed, these channels rapidly propagate towards the outlet and act as a bypass of the wider packing. The onset of this instability occurs when the gravity-driven grain flow at the free surface is insufficient to supply the fluid-assisted central region below the interface. Balancing empirical models of these flows predicts the height at which channels emerge as a function of grain size and flow rate. These findings provide a framework for predicting and controlling fluid-grain interactions in natural hazards, industrial processing, and geophysical flows. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC grants EP/X028771/1 and EP/S034587/1. |
| Start Page: |
468 |