title: Computer simulations of the collapse of columns formed by elongated grains.
abstract: A numerical investigation of the collapse of granular columns has been conducted. In particular, we address the effect of the grain shape on the properties of the collapse. We show that the final runout and height of the deposits scale as a power law of the initial aspect ratio of the column, a, independently of the elongation of the grains used. We describe this process in terms of an energy balance, and construct an "inertial number" that can be used to describe the flow in terms of a recently proposed granular rheology. We argue that an effective friction that results from this dimensionless quantity explains why the shape of the grains is irrelevant for the final properties of the collapse.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70-360, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán D.F. 04510, México. horaciotmc@iim.unam.mx
authors.forename: Horacio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tapia-McClung
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zenit
mesh_terms: D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017276:Friction; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009038:Motion; D012212:Rheology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids