The collapse of a granular column in a viscous liquid is experimentally investigated. The morphology of the deposits is shown to be mainly controlled by the initial volume fraction of the granular mass and not by the aspect ratio of the column, an observation which differs from dry granular collapse. Two different regimes are identified corresponding to initially loose and dense packings. Loose packings give rise to thin and long deposits, the dynamics being fast. A positive liquid pressure is measured below the column. For dense packings, the runout distance is twice less, the flow is slow, and a negative pore pressure is measured during the flow. These observations suggest that the dynamics of the granular collapse in a fluid is strongly affected by the dilatancy or contractancy behavior of the granular medium.
REFERENCES
1.
R. M.
Iverson
, “The physics of debris flows
”, Rev. Geophys.
35
, 245
, doi:10.1029/97RG00426 (1997
). 2.
O.
Pouliquen
and J.
Vallance
, “Segregation induced instabilities of granular fronts
”, Chaos
9
, 621
(1999
). 3.
R. M.
Iverson
, M.
Logan
, and R. P.
Denlinger
, “Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: II. Experimental tests
”, J. Geophys. Res.
109
, F01015
, doi:10.1029/2003JF000084 (2004
). 4.
E.
Lajeunesse
, C.
Quantin
, P.
Allemand
, and C.
Delacourt
, “New insights on the runout of large landslides in the Valles-Marineris Canyons, Mars
”, J. Geophys. Res.
33
, L04403
, doi:10.1029/2005GL025168 (2006
) 5.
O.
Roche
, S.
Montserrat
, Y.
Nio
, and A.
Tamburrino
, “Experimental observations of water-like behavior of initially fluidized, dam break granular flows and their relevance for the propagation of ash-rich pyroclastic flows
”, J. Geophys. Res.
113
, B12203
, doi:10.1029/2008JB005664 (2008
). 6.
E.
Lajeunesse
, A.
Mangeney-Castelnau
, and J. P.
Vilotte
, “Spreading of a granular mass on a horizontal plane
”, Phys. Fluids
16
, 2371
(2004
). 7.
G.
Lube
, H.
Huppert
, and R.
Sparks
, “Axisymmetric collapses of granular columns
”, J. Fluid Mech.
508
, 175
(2004
). 8.
E.
Lajeunesse
, J.
Monnier
, and G.
Homsy
, “Granular slumping on a horizontal surface
”, Phys. Fluids
17
, 103302
(2005
). 9.
N. J.
Balmforth
and R. R.
Kerswell
, “Granular collapse in two dimensions
”, J. Fluid Mech.
538
, 399
(2005
). 10.
S.
Siavoshi
and A.
Kudrolli
, “Failure of a granular step
”, Phys. Rev. E
71
, 051302
(2005
). 11.
G.
Lube
, H.
Huppert
, R.
Sparks
, and A.
Freundt
, “Collapses of two-dimensional granular columns
”, Phys. Rev. E
72
, 041301
(2005
). 12.
G.
Lube
, H.
Huppert
, R.
Sparks
and A.
Freundt
, “Static and flowing regions in granular collapses down channels
”, Phys. Fluids
19
, 043301
(2007
). 13.
L.
Lacaze
, J. C.
Phillips
, and R. R.
Kerswell
, “Planar collapse of a granular column: Experiments and discrete element simulations
”, Phys. Fluids
20
, 063302
(2008
). 14.
R.
Zenit
, “Computer simulations of the collapse of a granular column
”, Phys. Fluids
17
, 031703
(2005
). 15.
L.
Lacaze
and R. R.
Kerswell
, “Axisymmetric granular collapse: A transient 3D flow test of viscoplasticity
”, Phys. Rev. Lett.
102
, 108305
(2009
). 16.
L.
Staron
and E. J.
Hinch
, “The spreading of a granular mass: Role of grain properties and initial conditions
”, Granular Matter
9
, 205
(2007
). 17.
R. R.
Kerswell
, “Dam break with Coulomb friction: A model for granular slumping?
”, Phys. Fluids
17
, 057101
(2005
). 18.
A.
Mangeney-Castelnau
, F.
Bouchut
, J. P.
Vilotte
, E.
Lajeunesse
, A.
Aubertin
, and M.
Pirulli
, “On the use of Saint Venant equations to simulate the spreading of a granular mass
”, J. Geophys. Res.
110
, B09103
, doi:10.1029/2004JB003161 (2005
). 19.
E.
Larrieu
, L.
Staron
, and E.
Hinch
, “Raining into shallow water as a description of the collapse of a column of grains
”, J. Fluid Mech.
554
, 259
(2006
). 20.
O.
Roche
, M. A.
Gilbertson
, J. C.
Phillips
, and R. S. J.
Sparks
, “Experimental study of gas-fluidized granular flows with implications for pyroclastic flow emplacement
”, J. Geophys. Res.
109
, B10201
, doi:10.1029/2003JB002916 (2004
). 21.
E.
Meiburg
and B.
Kneller
, “Turbidity currents and their deposits
”, Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech.
42
, 135
(2010
). 22.
E.
Thompson
and H.
Huppert
, “Granular column collapses: Further experimental results
”, J. Fluid Mech.
575
, 177
(2007
). 23.
F.
Bonnet
, T.
Richard
, and P.
Philippe
, “Sensitivity to solid volume fraction of gravitational instability in a granular medium
”, Granular Matter
12
, 317
(2010
). 24.
R. M.
Iverson
, M. E.
Reid
, N. R.
Iverson
, R. G.
LaHusen
, M.
Logan
, J. E.
Mann
, and D. L.
Brien
, “Acute sensitivity of landslide rates to initial soil porosity
”, Science
290
, 513
(2000
). 25.
D. G.
Schaeffer
and R. M.
Iverson
, “Steady and intermittent slipping in a model of landslide motion regulated by pore-pressure feedback
”, SIAM J. Appl. Math
69
, 769
(2008
). 26.
M.
Pailha
, M.
Nicolas
, and O.
Pouliquen
, “Initiation of underwater granular avalanches: Influence of the initial volume fraction
”, Phys. Fluids
20
, 111701
(2008
). 27.
M.
Pailha
and O.
Pouliquen
, “A two-phase flow description of the initiation of underwater granular avalanches
”, J. Fluid Mech.
633
, 115
(2009
). 28.
E. B.
Pitman
and L.
Le
, “A two-fluid model for avalanche and debris flows
”, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A
363
, 1573
(2005
). 29.
G. Y.
Onoda
and E. G.
Liniger
, “Random loose packings of uniform spheres and the dilatancy onset
”, Phys. Rev. Lett.
64
, 2727
(1990
). 30.
P.
Philippe
and D.
Bideau
, “Compaction dynamics of a granular medium under vertical tapping
”, Europhys. Lett.
60
, 677
(2002
). 31.
A.
Daerr
and S.
Douady
, “Sensitivity of granular surface flows to preparation
”, Europhy. Lett.
47
, 324
(1999
). © 2011 American Institute of Physics.
2011
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.
