Abstract
The dynamics of grain fragmentation is usually ignored in the study of rapid granular flows. This is realistic for experiments on small-scale chutes or in many industrial processes where the specific granular energy is too small for particles to break but is unrealistic for natural rock avalanches, where the extremely comminuted state is perhaps the most evident aspect of the deposit. Based on observations of natural landslide deposits, it has been suggested that the stress may increase along a sequence of force chains formed by the granular material. However, simple calculations show that rock avalanche deposits exhibit a much more advanced degree of fragmentation than explainable with the static chain model. It is thus deduced that fragmentation along force chains must be combined with the effect of a bumpy topography. A simple model of a force chain moving on a rugged incline is then introduced, which exhibits increased fragmentation rate in the presence of a bumpy topography. It is shown that both the wave number and amplitude of the topographic undulations are significant in the efficiency of fragmentation.
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Acknowledgments
I am indebted with A. Strom for providing his data of rock avalanche fragmentation, at that time partly unpublished.
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Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
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De Blasio, F.V. Dynamical stress in force chains of granular media traveling on a bumpy terrain and the fragmentation of rock avalanches. Acta Mech 221, 375–382 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00707-011-0504-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00707-011-0504-0