Force distribution in none cohesive granular media: Experimental and computational observations

Abstract

Understanding the behavior of mechanical properties within granular media is essential in several applications of civil and chemical engineering, geophysical sciences as well as in many other areas of science. It is well established that in non-cohesive granular media, the transmission of force occurs exclusively via inter particle contacts, which follow preferred paths, the so-called "stress chains" or "force chains" network. Because the inter-particle forces and its distribution determine the bulk properties of a granular system, this behavior has very important consequences in transport phenomena as well as in constitutive modeling. In this work we present results, both experimental and computational, on the behavior of the force distribution in static granular materials. These results provide new insight into the physics of granular materials and complement previous findings.