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Pulling objects out of cohesive granular materials

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Abstract

Initiating the motion of an object embedded in granular materials requires applying a force that exceeds a non-null threshold. This study focuses on how inter-granular adhesion affects this threshold. A series of 2D DEM numerical tests involving vertically pulling out plate-shape objects evidences a general linear scaling between the force threshold and the contact adhesion strength. We found that the slope of this relation is proportional to either the plate width or the plate depth, which ever is the largest. This reflects two regimes of mobility controlled by two distinct failure modes: (i) unsticking the plate from the grains underneath it or (ii) spliting a frustum of grains above the plate, which ever is the strongest.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council (DP200101927).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Particles and Grains laboratory, School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Building J05, Sydney, 2006, Australia

    Shivakumar Athani & Pierre Rognon

  2. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LIPHY, Grenoble, F-38000, France

    Shivakumar Athani

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  1. Shivakumar Athani
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  2. Pierre Rognon
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Correspondence to Pierre Rognon.

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Athani, S., Rognon, P. Pulling objects out of cohesive granular materials. Granular Matter 23, 67 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-021-01126-1

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