Stationary shear flows of dense granular materials: a tentative continuum modelling

We propose a simple continuum model to interpret the shearing motion of dense, dry and cohesion-less granular media. Compressibility, dilatancy and Coulomb-like friction are the three basic ingredients. The granular stress is split into a rate-dependent part representing the rebound-less impacts between grains and a rate-independent part associated with long-lived contacts. Because we consider stationary flows only, the grain compaction and the grain velocity are the two main variables. The predicted velocity and compaction profiles are in apparent qualitative agreement with most of the experimental or numerical results concerning free-surface shear flows as well as confined shear flows.Received: 24 March 2004, Published online: 29 June 2004PACS: 45.70.Ht Avalanches - 45.70.-n Granular systems - 83.80.Fg Granular solids