Granular collapse on a rough slope
Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 063801 – Published 23 June, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sc9j-7c35
Abstract
Gravity-driven collapses such as landslides, avalanches, and mudslides have garnered increasing attention, and understanding their complex dynamics is a key concern for risk assessment. In this paper, we design a laboratory experiment to investigate the dry granular column collapse from a rough slope to a horizontal plane. Here, we mainly focus on the effects of the slope characteristics on the dynamic behaviors and final geometry of the grains. In the experiment, we capture the dynamic granular motion using a computer vision-based recognition method. It is found that particles form deposits at both the top and bottom of the slope. The granular collapse process that occurs on the top is similar to the collapse on a horizontal plane. The particles entering the slope accumulate kinetic energy and spread along the slope and horizontal plane to form a granular flow. The dynamic flow behaviors observed in this experiment and the final deposit properties are found closely related to the properties of the slope and the initial granular column configurations. In addition, we present scaling arguments for the runout distance, final height, and characteristic time and attempt to elucidate their underlying physics. The modified scaling laws, which consider the effect of aspect ratio, prove to be applicable in this scenario.
