Discrete element investigation of the mobility of granular mass flows

Energy evolution of gravitational-granular flows

“…Indeed, Wu et al [28] used a smallscale numerical model to predict the flow mobility and runout behavior of granular materials, this was also nicely validated with an experimental work. In our ongoing work, the numerical model extends our previous investigation [15], this is also validated with a theoretical analysis. Our previous results confirm that the DEM simulations can well predict flow mobilities and runout distance of granular flows.…”

“…In this study, we only use one case of the particle size distribution. Subsequently, the slope angle is continuously varied in a wide range from 25 • to 60 • , these values of the slope angle exceed the angle of repose of modeled granular material, also reflects the most common cases of sliding angle on mountainous area [15]. In terms of the sliding volume's dimensions, the initial height h 0 is fixed at 0.0290 m, while the initial length l 0 of the box is declared by the author.…”

“…To comprehensively understand and predict the characteristics and mobility of landslides, a numerical experiment is well-known as an effective method. Different numerical methods such as Material Point Method (MPM) [9,10], Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) [11][12][13], and Discrete Element Method (DEM) [14,15] have been used for simulating landslides. DEM model is well known as an initial step for investigating and confirming the flow mobility of granular materials because this method has the advantage of easily considering the particle size distribution, changing the grain properties and model configurations, as well as assessing the microscopic properties to demonstrate the origins of macroscopic properties [16,17].…”

“…As a result, it is difficult to get a better understanding of the mobility of granular materials. Recently, Vo and co-workers [15] numerically investigated the effects of slope angle and volume of material on the mobility of gravitational-granular flows utilizing the discrete element method. The results showed that the slope angle strongly affects the mobility of granular flows whereas the sliding volume slightly modifies the energy evolution, and a nice correlation between the runout distance and kinetic energy was introduced [15].…”

“…Recently, Vo and co-workers [15] numerically investigated the effects of slope angle and volume of material on the mobility of gravitational-granular flows utilizing the discrete element method. The results showed that the slope angle strongly affects the mobility of granular flows whereas the sliding volume slightly modifies the energy evolution, and a nice correlation between the runout distance and kinetic energy was introduced [15]. The findings provided evidence for getting a better understanding of the flow mobility of granular materials on a slope-break surface, however, the effects of the plunging length in the upstream region and the cohesive stress between grains should be also studied.…”