1 research outputs found
Stress transmission in granular matter
The transmission of forces through a disordered granular system is studied by
means of a geometrical-topological approach that reduces the granular packing
into a set of layers. This layered structure constitutes the skeleton through
which the force chains set up. Given the granular packing, and the region where
the force is applied, such a skeleton is uniquely defined. Within this
framework, we write an equation for the transmission of the vertical forces
that can be solved recursively layer by layer. We find that a special class of
analytical solutions for this equation are L\'evi-stable distributions. We
discuss the link between criticality and fragility and we show how the
disordered packing naturally induces the formation of force-chains and arches.
We point out that critical regimes, with power law distributions, are
associated with the roughness of the topological layers. Whereas, fragility is
associated with local changes in the force network induced by local granular
rearrangements or by changes in the applied force. The results are compared
with recent experimental observations in particulate matter and with computer
simulations.Comment: 14 pages, Latex, 5 EPS figure