Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 January 2008
Using molecular dynamic simulations, we investigate the characteristics of dense flows of model cohesive grains. We describe their rheological behaviour and its origin at the scale of the grains and of their organization. Homogeneous plane shear flows give access to the constitutive law of cohesive grains which can be expressed by a simple friction law similar to the case of cohesionless grains, but intergranular cohesive forces strongly enhance the resistance to the shear. Then we show the consequence on flows down a slope: a plugged region develops at the free surface where the cohesion intensity is the strongest. Moreover, we measure various indicators of the microstructure within flows which evidence the aggregation of grains owing to cohesion and we analyse the properties of the contact network (force distributions and anisotropy). This provides new insights into the interplay between the local contact law, the microstructure and the macroscopic behavior of cohesive grains. Movies are available with the online version of the paper.
Movie 1. Dense flow of grains without cohesion: molecular dynamics simulation of the homogeneous plane shear in a periodic domain. The inertial number I, which is defined as the shear rate times the square root of the grain mass divided by the pressure, is 0.1. The red connecting lines denote the repulsive contact forces between grains.
Movie 1. Dense flow of grains without cohesion: molecular dynamics simulation of the homogeneous plane shear in a periodic domain. The inertial number I, which is defined as the shear rate times the square root of the grain mass divided by the pressure, is 0.1. The red connecting lines denote the repulsive contact forces between grains.
Movie 2. Dense flow of cohesive grains: molecular dynamics simulation of the homogeneous plane shear in a periodic domain. The inertial number is still 0.1, but the cohesion number, which is defined as the tensile resistance of the contact divided by the typical force imposed by the pressure, is 50. The blue connecting lines denote the attractive contact forces between grains. Correlated motions point out the formation of clusters that can break, deform and reform throughout the flow. This evolution of microstructure strongly affects the macroscopic constitutive law.
Movie 2. Dense flow of cohesive grains: molecular dynamics simulation of the homogeneous plane shear in a periodic domain. The inertial number is still 0.1, but the cohesion number, which is defined as the tensile resistance of the contact divided by the typical force imposed by the pressure, is 50. The blue connecting lines denote the attractive contact forces between grains. Correlated motions point out the formation of clusters that can break, deform and reform throughout the flow. This evolution of microstructure strongly affects the macroscopic constitutive law.