Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 July 2011
We consider a dense granular shear flow in a two-dimensional system. Granular systems(composed of a large number of macroscopic particles) are far from equilibrium due toinelastic collisions between particles: an external driving is needed to maintain themotion of particles. Theoretical description of driven granular media is especiallychallenging for dense granular flows. This paper focuses on a gravity-driven densegranular Poiseuille flow in a channel. A special focus here is on the intriguingphenomenon of fluid-solid coexistence: a solid plug in the center of the system,surrounded by fluid layers. To find and analyze various flow regimes, a multi-scaleapproach is taken. On macro scale, granular hydrodynamics is employed. On micro scale,event-driven molecular dynamics simulations are performed. The entire phase diagram ofparameters is explored, in order to determine which flow regime occurs in various regionsin the parameter space.