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arXiv · 2206.00915

Influence of Cross-section Shape on Granular Column Collapses

Teng Man·Herbert E. Huppert·Zaohui Zhang·Sergio Andres Galindo-Torres
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Abstract

We investigate granular column collapses with different column cross-sections and associate the cross-section shape influence with a finite-size analysis. Previous research, confined to initially circular configurations, reviewed the importance of granular column collapse studies and concluded that the run-out distance scales with the initial aspect ratio. In this work, granular columns with three different types of initial column cross-sections (square, equilateral triangular, and rectangular cross-sections) are simulated using the discrete element method (DEM). We explore how non-circular cross-sections lead to different run-out distances. Based on the previously obtained finite-size analysis, we further link the initial radius in different directions to the relative size of a column and perform the finite-size analysis to explain the cross-section influence. In the end, a universal relationship, which includes frictional properties, relative sizes, and the cross-section influence, is proposed. Our results are shown to have direct relevance to various natural and engineering systems.

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Teng Man, Herbert E. Huppert, Zaohui Zhang, Sergio Andres Galindo-Torres. 2022-06-02. Influence of Cross-section Shape on Granular Column Collapses. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2022.117591

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