Continuum-mechanical description of a dense, sheared, granular matter
Abstract: We propose a (tentative) continuum-mechanical description of a dense, sheared, granular matter. As a typical example, we consider avalanches over a pile or over an inclined plane. We restrict on stationary flows and use the grain velocity and grain concentration (volume fraction) as the basic variables. A constitutive relation is proposed for the granular stress which takes solid friction and dilatancy into account. The resulting velocity and concentration profiles are obtained and compared with experimental results.
Christophe Josserand, Kouame Kouakou, Pierre-Yves Lagree & Daniel Lhuillier