Response of a Noncohesive Packing of Grains to a Localized Force: Deviation From Continuum Elasticity.

Jean Rajchenbach (1) , Amar El Hadji Bouya (1) , Didier Clamond (2) , Nathalie Fraysse (1)

1 LPMC - Laboratoire de physique de la matière condensée
2 JAD - Laboratoire Jean Alexandre Dieudonné

In order to characterize the mechanical behavior of grain piles, we investigate the response of a non-cohesive two-dimensional packing of cylinders submitted to a localized force. By means of image processing, we obtain an accurate measurement of the individual grain displacements in the reversible regime of deformation. The measured displacement field deviates unambiguously from the predictionsof linear elasticity and of other theoretical descriptions commonly used to model the behavior of cohesionless soils in civil engineering or in soil mechanics. Surprisingly, the analysis of the deformation field reveals a tendency to localization in the reversible regime.

Mots clés: Granular materials; mechanics; statics; constitutive relation

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]; Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]

Jean Rajchenbach, Amar El Hadji Bouya, Didier Clamond, Nathalie Fraysse. Response of a Noncohesive Packing of Grains to a Localized Force: Deviation From Continuum Elasticity.. Physical Review E : Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, 2011, 83 (2), pp.021304. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevE.83.021304⟩. ⟨hal-00567126⟩