How large grains increase bulk friction in bi-disperse granular chute flows

In this contribution, we apply contact dynamics discrete simulations to explore how the mechanical properties of simple bi-dimensional granular chute flows are affected by the existence of two grain sizes. Computing partial stress tensors for the phases of small and large grains, we show that the phase of large grain exhibits a much larger shear strength than the phase of small grains. This difference translates in terms of the flow internal friction: adopting the μ(I) dependence to describe the flow frictional properties, we establish that the flow mean friction coefficient increases with the volume fraction of large grains. Hence, while the presence of large grains may induce lubrication in 3D unconfined flows due to the self-channelisation and levées formation, the effect of large grains on the bulk properties is to decrease the flow mobility.