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arXiv · 0706.3136

Broad distribution of stick-slip events in Slowly Sheared Granular Media: Table-top production of a Gutenberg-Richter-like distribution

Michael Bretz·Russell Zaretzki·Stuart B. Field·Namiko Mitarai·Franco Nori
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Abstract

We monitor the stick-slip displacements of a very slowly driven moveable perforated top plate which interacts via shearing with a packing of identical glass beads confined in a tray. When driven at a constant stress rate, the distributions of large event displacements and energies triggered by the stick-slip instabilities exhibit power law responses reminiscent of the Gutenberg-Richter law for earthquakes. Small events are quasi-size independent, signaling crossover from single-bead transport to collective behavior.

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Michael Bretz, Russell Zaretzki, Stuart B. Field, Namiko Mitarai, Franco Nori. 2007-06-21. Broad distribution of stick-slip events in Slowly Sheared Granular Media: Table-top production of a Gutenberg-Richter-like distribution. https://doi.org/10.1209/epl%2Fi2006-10048-2

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