Small-amplitude acoustics in bulk granular media

We propose and validate a three-dimensional continuum modeling approach that predicts small-amplitude acoustic behavior of dense-packed granular media. The model is obtained through a joint experimental and finite-element study focused on the benchmark example of a vibrated container of grains. Usin...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Valenza, John J., Johnson, David L., Henann, David Lee, Kamrin, Kenneth N.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Physical Society 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/84923
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5154-9787
Description
Summary:We propose and validate a three-dimensional continuum modeling approach that predicts small-amplitude acoustic behavior of dense-packed granular media. The model is obtained through a joint experimental and finite-element study focused on the benchmark example of a vibrated container of grains. Using a three-parameter linear viscoelastic constitutive relation, our continuum model is shown to quantitatively predict the effective mass spectra in this geometry, even as geometric parameters for the environment are varied. Further, the model's predictions for the surface displacement field are validated mode-by-mode against experiment. A primary observation is the importance of the boundary condition between grains and the quasirigid walls.