Rheology of a confined granular material

Abstract
We study the rheology of a granular material slowly driven in a confined geometry. The motion is characterized by a steady sliding with a resistance force increasing with the driving velocity and the surrounding relative humidity. For lower driving velocities a transition to stick-slip motion occurs, exhibiting a blocking enhancement with decreasing velocity. We propose a model to explain this behavior pointing out the leading role of friction properties between the grains and the container’s boundary.
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