Influence of cross-section shape on granular column collapses

Abstract

We investigate granular column collapses with different column cross-sections and associate the cross-section shape influence with a finite-size analysis. Previous research, confined to initially circular configurations, reviewed the importance of granular column collapse studies and concluded that the run-out distance scales with the initial aspect ratio. In this work, granular columns with three different types of initial column cross-sections (square, equilateral triangular, and rectangular cross-sections) are simulated using the discrete element method (DEM). We explore how non-circular cross-sections lead to different run-out distances. Based on the previously obtained finite-size analysis, we further link the initial radius in different directions to the relative size of a column and perform the finite-size analysis to explain the cross-section influence. In the end, a universal relationship, which includes frictional properties, relative sizes, and the cross-section influence, is proposed. Our results are shown to have direct relevance to various natural and engineering systems.