Introduction to Granular Mechanics (CL708) – Semester I, 2019-2020

Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay

Homework Assignment 1
Particle Size, Particle Shape, Friction
Max. marks: 50 Due date: August 26, 2019

1. (15 marks) The image of a grain along with a mm scale is shown below. The image
is also given in an attached file. Use ImageJ to characterize the shape assuming
the grain to be axisymmetric.

(a) Obtain the aspect ratio and the sphericity for the grain. For the latter you
may assume the grain to be a cylinder capped by hemispheres.
(b) Obtain the coordinates of 10-20 points on the perimeter of the of the grain
and compute the first three coefficients (An , φn ; n = 0, 1, 2) from the data,
assuming that the shape is given by
∞
X
R(θ) = A0 + An cos (nθ + φn ) .
n=1

2. (15 marks) The measured amount of granular material in different particle size
ranges is given in the table below.
d (mm) weight (g)
1.03 - 1.39 0.18
1.39 - 1.88 1.02
1.88 - 2.53 4.44
2.53 - 3.42 15.12
3.42 - 4.62 40.08
4.62 - 6.23 82.75
6.23 - 8.41 133.06
8.41 - 11.36 166.63
11.36 - 15.33 162.52
15.33 - 20.70 123.45

(a) Obtain the size distribution.

(b) Obtain the cumulative size distribution.
(c) Assuming the distribution to be log-normal, find the parameters of the distri-
bution.
1
D. V. Khakhar

1
3. (15 marks) As a simplification of the Hertz law for particle deformation, a linear
force law F = −kL α is often used, where kL is a constant and α is the deformation.

(a) Obtain the maximum deformation and collision time for this force law.
(b) Calculate the collision time for aluminium balls of diameter 1.5 mm colliding
with a velocity of 5 mm/s. Estimate kL from the Hertz law assuming that the
maximum deformation in both cases is the same. (Y = 6 × 1011 dynes/cm2 ,
ρ = 3 g/cm3 , σ = 0.3.)

4. (5 marks) A block of weight W is placed on an inclined plane. The coefficient of

static friction between the block and the plane is µs and the coefficient of sliding
friction is µd . Find the angle of the inclined plane at which the block just starts
sliding. Find the acceleration of the block when it is sliding. Will the block achieve
a steady velocity? Give reasons.