Particle-Laden Flows: Erosion Experiments and Machine Learning Analysis

Understanding erosion is crucial for applications ranging from the effects on water streams and marine life to the damaging impacts on land and agriculture. Our research aims to understand erosion by studying particle laden flows and the effects it has on these particles over an incline. The experiments we ran included pouring oil mixed with particles over a particle bed of fixed mass on a ramp. The particle volume fraction in the oil was changed to study erosion effect under flows with varying particle concentration. Tracking these particles and fluid systems can be difficult, leading us to implement computer vision and machine learning tracking techniques to perform data analysis. The measurements include analyzing the front position of the eroded particles, the erosion amount, and the concentration of the eroded particles. Our results highlight the need of implementing time series analysis and performing particle image velocimetry analysis.