Experimental Analysis and Micromechanical Modelling of Dry Granular Flow and Impacts in Laboratory Flume Tests

Summary. The paper presents the results of a numerical analysis, carried out by using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and aimed at reproducing a series of tests on a small-scale laboratory model of a slope. Particular attention is devoted to the validation of DEM when used for the prediction of the run-out distance and of the impact force on obstacles. The soil used for the small-scale model is a mono-granular medium sand, which revealed to be particularly suitable to simulate flows like debris or rock avalanches. The experimental set-up comprises a flume equipped with a system of differently sized instrumented obstacles. The numerical model of the granular flow has been calibrated on the basis of the displacement measurements, obtained through a photogrammetric technique. Author’s address: Roberto Valentino, Department of Civil, Environmental, Territorial Engineering and Architecture, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma, Italy