Effects of cohesion on the surface angle and velocity profiles of granular material in a rotating drum

Large scale, discrete element simulations are performed to study the dynamics of a rotating drum partially filled with cohesive granular particles. The continuous avalanche regime is explored using a simple model for interparticle cohesion in order to simulate the effects of granular media in the presence of a wetting fluid. The shape of the free surface for cohesionless particles ranges from flat to a concave S shape depending on the rotation rate and frictional properties between the grains and the drum side walls. The presence of interparticle cohesion reduces the concavity of the free surface and pushes the free surface towards a flat or even slightly convex shape. From contour plots of the velocity, we show how the position of the vortex core (the stationary spot in the laboratory frame) depends on the rotation speed and interparticle cohesion strength and how this relationship can be understood from considerations of the incompressibility condition on the mass flow. © 2009 The American Physical Society.