RESUMEN
Experiments and simulations of an intruder dragged by a spring through a two-dimensional annulus of granular material exhibit robust force fluctuations. At low packing fractions (Ï<Ï_{0}), the intruder clears an open channel. Above Ï_{0}, stick-slip dynamics develop, with an average energy release that is independent of the particle-particle and particle-base friction coefficients but does depend on the width W of the annulus and the diameter D of the intruder. A simple model predicts the dependence of Ï_{0} on W and D, allowing for a data collapse for the average energy release as a function of Ï/Ï_{0}. These results pose challenges for theories of mechanical failure in amorphous materials.
RESUMEN
We present simulation results for an intruder pulled through a two-dimensional granular system by a spring using a model designed to mimic the experiments described by Kozlowski et al. [Phys. Rev. E 100, 032905 (2019)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.100.032905]. In that previous study the presence of basal friction between the grains and the base was observed to change the intruder dynamics from clogging to stick-slip. Here we first show that our simulation results are in excellent agreement with the experimental data for a variety of experimentally accessible friction coefficients governing interactions of particles with each other and with boundaries. We then use simulations to explore a broader range of parameter space, focusing on the friction between the particles and the base. We consider both static and dynamic basal friction coefficients, which are difficult to vary smoothly in experiments. The simulations show that dynamic friction strongly affects the stick-slip behavior when the coefficient is decreased below 0.1, while static friction plays only a marginal role.