Abstract
The temporal evolution of a water-sand interface
driven by gravity is experimentally investigated. By means of a Fourier
analysis of the evolving interface the growth rates are determined for the
different modes appearing in the developing front. To model the observed
behavior we apply the idea of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for two
stratified fluids. Carrying out a linear stability analysis we calculate
the growth rates from the corresponding dispersion relations for finite
and infinite cell sizes. Based on the theoretical results the viscosity
of the suspension is estimated to be approximately 100 times higher
than that of pure water, in agreement with other experimental findings.
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