dc.contributor.advisor	Dufek, Josef
dc.contributor.author	Estep, Joseph Jeremiah
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Newman, Andrew
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Huber, Chris
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Peng, Zhigang
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Fritz, Hermann
dc.contributor.department	Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
dc.date.accessioned	2014-05-22T15:06:45Z
dc.date.available	2014-05-22T15:06:45Z
dc.date.created	2014-05
dc.date.issued	2014-03-31
dc.date.submitted	May 2014
dc.date.updated	2014-05-22T15:06:45Z
dc.description.abstract	Granular materials are composed of solid, discrete particles and exhibit mechanical properties that range from fluid to solid behavior. Some of the complexity exhibited by granular systems arises due to the long-range order that develops due to particle-particle contact. Inter-particle forces in granular materials often form a distributive network of filamentary force-accommodating chains (i.e. force chains), such that a fraction of the total number of particles accommodates the majority of the forces in the system. The force chain network inherent to a system composed of granular materials controls the macroscopic behavior of the granular material. Force transmission by these filamentary chains is focused (or localized) to the grain scale at boundaries such as the granular flow substrate. Recent laboratory experiments have shown that force chains transmit extreme localized forces to the substrates of free surface granular flows. In this work we combine analog and numeric experimental approaches to investigate the forces at the bed of a simplified granular flow. A photoelastic experimental approach is used to resolve discrete forces in the granular flows. We also conduct discrete element method (DEM) simulations, using input parameters derived from measureable physical material properties of experimental and natural materials, which successfully reproduce the analog experimental results. This work suggests that force chain activity may play an unexpected and important role in the bed physics of dense granular flows through substrate modification by erosion and entrainment, and that DEM numerical methods effectively treat force chain processes in simulated granular flows.
dc.description.degree	Ph.D.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/51768
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject	Force chains
dc.subject	Granular flows
dc.subject.lcsh	Granular flow
dc.subject.lcsh	Force and energy
dc.subject.lcsh	Photoelasticity
dc.subject.lcsh	Computer simulation
dc.title	Analog and numerical experiments investigating force chain influences on the bed physics of dense granular flows
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Dissertation
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.corporatename	School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Sciences
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	b3e45057-a6e8-4c24-aaaa-fb00c911603e
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	85042be6-2d68-4e07-b384-e1f908fae48a
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral

Title: Analog and numerical experiments investigating force chain influences on the bed physics of dense granular flows

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Analog and numerical experiments investigating force chain influences on the bed physics of dense granular flows