Kinetic Theory and Hydrodynamics for Rapid Granular Flow - A Perspective

These are notes prepared for presentation at the workshop ”Challenges in Granular Matter” at the Abdus Salam Institute for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, August 2001. Revisions and figures will be added at a later date. Many features of real granular fluids under rapid flow are replicated by a system of smooth hard spheres with inelastic collisions. For such a system, it is tempting to apply standard methods of kinetic theory and hydrodynamics to calculate properties of interest. The domain of validity for such methods is a priori uncertain due to the inelasticity, but recent systemmatic studies continue to support the utility of kinetic theory and hydrodynamics as both qualitative and quantitative descriptions for many physical states. The current status of kinetic theory and hydrodynamics is reviewed and interpreted, with the optimistic conclusion that much existing phenomenology can be placed on firm grounds for further understanding of complex states observed in rapid granular flow.