The effect of grain size and moisture content on the dynamic macroscopic response of granular geological materials was explored by performing uniaxial planar impact experiments on high purity, Oklahoma #1, sand samples composed of either fine (75–150 μm) or coarse (425–500 μm) grain sizes in either dry or fully water-saturated conditions. Oklahoma #1 sand was chosen for its smooth, quasi-spherical grain shapes, narrow grain size distributions, and nearly pure SiO2 composition (99.8 wt. %). The water-saturated samples were completely saturated ensuring a two-phase mixture with roughly 65% sand and 35% water. Sand samples were dynamically loaded to pressures between 1 and 11 GPa. Three-dimensional meso-scale simulations using an Eulerian hydrocode, CTH, were created to model the response of each sand sample. Multi-phase equations of state were used for both silicon dioxide, which comprised individual sand grains, and water, which surrounded individual grains. Particle velocity profiles measured from the rear surface of the sand, both experimentally and computationally, reveal that fine grain samples have steeper rise characteristics than coarse grain samples and water-saturated samples have an overall much stiffer response than dry samples. The experimentally determined particle velocity vs. shock velocity response of dry sand was linear over this pressure range, with little difference between the two grain sizes investigated. The experimental response for the water saturated sand exhibited a piecewise continuous response with a transition region between particle velocities of 0.6 km s−1 and 0.8 km s−1 and a pressure of 4.5–6 GPa. Hypotheses for the cause of this transition region are drawn based on results of the meso-scale simulations.

The shock response of granular materials is important in a variety of contexts but the precise dynamics of grains during compaction is poorly understood. Here we use 2D mesoscale numerical simulations of the shock compaction of granular tungsten carbide to investigate the effect of internal structure within the particle bed and 'stiction' between grains on the shock response. An increase in the average number of contacts with other particles, per particle, tends to shift the Hugoniot to higher shock velocities, lower particle velocities and lower densities. This shift is sensitive to inter-particle shear resistance. Eulerian shock physics codes approximate friction between, and interlocking of, grains with their treatment of mixed cell strength (stiction) and here we show that this has a significant effect on the shock response. When studying the compaction of particle beds it is not common to quantify the pre-compaction internal structure, yet our results suggest that such differences should be taken into account, either by using identical beds or by averaging results over multiple experiments.

No abstract

No abstract

The goal of this work was to develop a technique for making transverse surface velocity measures utilizing Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV). Such a task is achieved by transmitting light and collecting Doppler-shifted light at an angle relative to the normal axis, where measured velocities are representative of a component of the transverse velocity. Because surface characteristics have an intrinsic effect on light scatter, different surface preparations were explored to direct reflectivity, including diffusion by means of sandpapering, or increasing retroreflectivity by coating with microspheres, milling v-cuts, and electrochemically etching grooves. Testing of these surface preparations was performed using an experiment featuring a 30 mm diameter aluminum disk rotating at 6000 or 6600 RPM. A single PDV collimator was positioned along the rotational axis of the disk at various angles, resolving the apparent transverse velocity. To characterize surface preparations, light return and velocities were recorded as a function of probe angle ranging from 0° to 51° from the surface normal for each preparation. Polished and electrochemically etched surfaces did not provide enough reflected light to resolve a beat frequency; however, sandpapered surfaces, retroreflective microspheres, and milled v-cuts provided adequate reflected light for incidence angles up to 51°. Applications of the surface preparations were then studied in gas gun experiments. Retroreflective microspheres were studied in a planar impact experiment, and milled v-cuts were studied in an oblique impact experiment. A normal and transverse profile of particle velocity was resolved in the oblique impact experiment.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract