Related papers: A two-species continuum model for aeolian sand rip…
It is widely accepted that both ripples and dunes form in rivers by primary linear instability, the wavelength of the former scaling on the grain size, that of the latter being controled by the water depth. We revisit here this problem,…
The motion of a thin layer of granular material on a plate undergoing sinusoidal vibrations is considered. We develop equations of motion for the local thickness and the horizontal velocity of the layer. The driving comes from the violent…
When sand flows out of a funnel onto a surface, a three dimensional pile that is stabilized by friction grows taller as it spreads. Here we investigate an idealized two dimensional analogue: spreading of a pile of monodisperse oil droplets…
The evolution of a pile of granular material is investigated by molecular dynamics using a new model including nonsphericity of the particles instead of introducing static friction terms. The angle of repose of the piles as well as the…
Predicting transport rates of windblown sand is a central problem in aeolian research, with implications for climate, environmental, and planetary sciences. Though studied since the 1930s, the underlying many-body dynamics is still…
We present an analytical model of aeolian sand transport. The model quantifies the momentum transfer from the wind to the transported sand by providing expressions for the thickness of the saltation layer and the apparent surface roughness.…
The linear stability analysis of the equations governing the evolution of a flat sand bed submitted to a turbulent shear flow predicts that the wavelength $\lambda$ at which the bed destabilises to form dunes should scale with the drag…
We present and analyse in this paper three models of coupled continuum equations all united by a common theme: the intuitive notion that sandpile surfaces are left smoother by the propagation of avalanches across them. Two of these concern…
Spontaneous stratification of granular mixtures has been reported by Makse et al. [Nature 386, 379 (1997)] when a mixture of grains differing in size and shape is poured in a quasi-two-dimensional heap. We study this phenomenon using two…
Desert surfaces are typically non uniform, with individual sand dunes generally surrounded by gravel or non-erodible beds. Similarly, beaches vary in composition and moisture that enhances cohesion between the grains. These bed…
We propose a nonlinear hydrodynamical model of granular materials. We show how this model describes the formation of a sand pile from a homogeneous distribution of material under gravity, and then discuss a simulation of a rotating sandpile…
Our aim in this note is to introduce and study a mathematical model for the description of traveling sand dunes. We use surface flow process of sand under the effect of wind and gravity. We model this phenomena by a non linear…
A light breeze rising over calm water initiates an intricate chain of events that culminates in a centimeters-deep turbulent shear layer capped by gravity-capillary ripples. At first, viscous stress accelerates a laminar wind-drift layer…
We studied the creep motion of granular materials in a gradient potential field that is created using a slow spin-up experiment device. Natural sand confined in the acrylic box is spun up by a controlled turntable and the surface flows are…
Granular surfaces tend to develop lateral ripples under the action of surface forces exerted by rolling wheels, an effect known as washboard or corrugated road. We report the results of both laboratory experiments and soft-particle direct…
Three-dimensional sand ripples can be observed under steady liquid flows in both nature and industry. Some examples are the ripples observed on the bed of rivers and in petroleum pipelines conveying sand. Although of importance, the…
Motivated by multiphase flow in reservoirs, we propose and study a two-species sandpile model in two dimensions. A pile of particles becomes unstable and topples if, at least one of the following two conditions is fulfilled: 1) the number…
A simple model for the dynamics of dunes associated with vegetation is proposed. Using the model, formation processes of transverse dunes, parabolic dunes and elongated parabolic dunes according to two environmental factors: i)the amount of…
We reveal a discontinuous transition in the saturated flux for aeolian saltation by simulating explicitly particle motion in turbulent flow. The discontinuity is followed by a coexistence interval with two metastable solutions. The…
We study the surface shape of two-dimensional piles using experiments and a continuum theory for surface flows of granular materials (the BCRE equations). We first obtain an analytical solution to the BCRE equations with a simple…