Force fluctuations in a pushed granular material

Cécile Nouguier (1) , Claude Bohatier (1) , Jean Jacques Moreau (1) , Farhang Radjai (1)

1 LMGC - Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil

We analyse the time evolution of stresses in a noncohesive granular bed cut by the motion of a tool. Our numerical simulations both in two and three dimensions reveal large fluctuations of the force acting on the tool. These fluctuations have a decreasing exponential distribution. We find that, in spite of fluctuations, the mean force is well fitted by an analytical form obtained from a limit analysis with Coulomb's failure criterion.

Mots clés: statistical analysis; contact dynamics; force fluctuations; Numerical simulations

Domaines: Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]

Cécile Nouguier, Claude Bohatier, Jean Jacques Moreau, Farhang Radjai. Force fluctuations in a pushed granular material. Granular Matter, 2000, 2, pp.171-178. ⟨10.1007/PL00010912⟩. ⟨hal-00759660⟩