Transit time during the interparticle percolation process

A numerical investigation of jamming effect during the spontaneous interparticle percolation process of small beads through an unconsolidated porous media has been performed. The size ratio between the moving beads and the ones building up the porous medium was chosen larger than the geometrical trapping threshold: xi(c)=(2/root 3 - 1)(-1) = 6.464 ... . In this paper, we used the discrete element method algorithm to study the rebounds of particles on the top of the porous medium and the transit times of an assembly of particles through it. Several parameters such as the number of injected particles, the size ratio between beads, and the energy restitution coefficient are investigated. This study leads to give some important results of the evolution of the transit time versus the contiguous volume occupied by the percolating particles.