Density waves and the effect of wall roughness in granular Poiseuille flow: Simulationand linear stability

The formation of density waves and the effect of wall roughness on them are studied using molecular dynamics simulations of gravity-driven granular Poiseuille flow. Three basic types of structures are found in moderately dense flows: a plug, a sinuous wave and a slug; a new varicose wave mode has been identified in dense flows with channels of large widths at moderate dissipations; only clump-like structures appear in dilute flows. The simulation results are contrasted with the predictions of a linear stability analysis of the kinetic-theory continuum equations for granular Poiseuille flow. The theoretical predictions on the form of density waves are in qualitative agreement with simulations in denser flows, however, there are discrepancies between simulation and theory in dilute flows.