Fasting heat production and metabolic BW in group-housed broilers.

Fasting heat production (FHP) is used for characterizing the basal metabolic rate of animals and the corresponding maintenance energy requirements and in the calculation of net energy value of feeds. In broilers, the most recent FHP estimates were obtained in the 1980s in slow-growing and fatter birds than nowadays. The FHP values (n=73; six experiments) measured in 3 to 6-week-old modern lines of broilers weighing 0.6 to 2.8 kg and growing at 80 to 100 g/day were used to update these literature values. Each measurement was obtained in a group of fasting broilers (5 to 14 birds) kept in a respiration chamber for at least 24 h. The FHP estimate corresponds to the asymptotic heat production corrected for zero physical activity obtained by modeling the decrease in heat production during the fasting day. The compilation of these data indicates that FHP was linearly related to the BW(0.70) (in kg), which can be considered as the metabolic BW of modern broilers. The 0.70 exponent differs from the conventional value of 0.75 used for mature animals. The FHP per kg of BW(0.70) ranged between 410 and 460 kJ/day according to the experiment (P<0.01). An experiment conducted with a shorter duration of fasting (16 h) indicated that FHP values are higher than those obtained over at least 24 h of fasting. Our values are similar to those obtained previously on fatter and slow-growing birds, even though the comparison is difficult since measurement conditions and methodologies have changed during the last 30 years. The FHP values obtained in our trials represent a basis for energy nutrition of modern broilers.

Shock waves in two-dimensional granular flow: effects of rough walls and polydispersity.

We have studied the two-dimensional flow of balls in a small-angle funnel, when either the side walls are rough or the balls are polydisperse. As in earlier work on monodisperse flows in smooth funnels, we observe the formation of kinematic shock waves (density waves). We find that for rough walls the flows are more disordered than for smooth walls and that shock waves generally propagate more slowly. For rough wall funnel flow, we show that the shock velocity and frequency obey simple scaling laws. These scaling laws are consistent with those found for smooth wall flow, but here they are cleaner since there are fewer packing-site effects and we study a wider range of parameters. For pipe flow (parallel side walls), rough walls support many shock waves, while smooth walls exhibit fewer or no shock waves. For funnel flows of balls with varying sizes, we find that flows with weak polydispersity behave qualitatively similar to monodisperse flows. For strong polydispersity, scaling breaks down and the shock waves consist of extended areas where the funnel is blocked completely.

Grain dynamics in a two-dimensional granular flow.

We have used particle tracking methods to study the dynamics of individual balls comprising a granular flow in a small-angle two-dimensional funnel. We statistically analyze many ball trajectories to examine the mechanisms of shock propagation. In particular, we study the creation of, and interactions between, shock waves. We also investigate the role of granular temperature and draw parallels to traffic flow dynamics.

Two-dimensional granular flow in a vibrated small-angle funnel

We have studied the flow of a single layer of uniform balls in a small-angle funnel when it is vibrated parallel to the flow. Generally, we measured the flow rate as a function of a dimensionless acceleration Gamma. However, for sufficiently small outlet widths, the flow can jam so we also measured the elapsed times between balls and their correlations to study jam dynamics. In particular, we found that when the funnel angle beta was larger than approximately 4 degrees, a stable jam always formed for Gamma<1 and the flow stopped. For Gamma approximately 1-4, jams still occurred, but now they broke and reformed, although they could last approximately 100 s, resulting in long-time correlations in the flow. The elapsed time distributions in this case show distinct, possibly algebraic, tails. Beyond Gamma approximately 4, the flow no longer jammed and the flow rate became constant. The general behavior has been mapped out in a rough phase diagram.

Statistics of shock waves in a two-dimensional granular flow.

We have investigated the dynamics of shock waves in a single layer of uniform balls in a small-angle two-dimensional funnel. When the funnel half-angle 0 degrees < or approximately beta < or approximately 2 degrees, the flow is intermittent and kinematic shock waves are observed to propagate against the flow. We have used fast video equipment and image analysis methods to study the statistics of the shock waves. It is found that their speed and frequency increase with the distance from the outlet. In particular, the shock speed scales as the ratio of the local funnel width to the width of the funnel outlet. Various kinds of interactions between shock waves are observed, including repulsion. New shock waves are only created at those sites where a close-packed triangular packing of the monodisperse balls fits across the funnel.