Abstract:
A granular material is a conglomeration of discrete macroscopic (>1 mm in size) solid particles or
grains. Granular materials are commonplace in nature and industry. According to Richard et al.
(2005), “Granular materials are ubiquitous in nature and are the second-most manipulated
material in industry (the first one is water)”. They occur in all shapes and sizes ranging from
powders, sand, cement, food grains, seeds, sugar, capsules and pills, gravels, fertilizers to large
chunks of coal, sand dunes, planetary rings, asteroids, etc. Figure 1.1 shows few examples of
granular materials. Many industries rely on handling, conveying and storage of grains.
