Scaling law of the drag force in dense granular media

Abstract

Making use of the system of pulling a spherical intruder in static three-dimensional granular media, we numerically study the scaling law for the drag force $F_{\rm drag}$ acting on the moving intruder under the influence of the gravity. Suppose if the intruder of diameter $D$ immersed in a granular medium consisting of grains of average diameter $d$ is located at a depth $h$ and moves with a speed $V$, we find that $F_{\rm drag}$ can be scaled as $(D+d)^{\phi_\mu} h^{\alpha_\mu}$ with two exponents $\phi_\mu$ and $\alpha_\mu$, which depend on the friction coefficient $\mu$ and satisfy an approximate sum rule $\phi_\mu+\alpha_\mu\approx 3$. This scaling law is valid for the arbitrary Froude number (defined by $\mathrm{Fr}={2 V}\sqrt{{2D}/{g}}\big/(D+d)$), if $h$ is sufficiently deep. We also identify the existence of three regimes (quasistatic, linear, and quadratic) at least for frictional grains in the velocity dependence of drag force. The crossovers take place at $\mathrm{Fr}\approx 1$ between the quasistatic to the linear regimes and at $\mathrm{Fr}\approx 5$ between the linear to the quadratic regimes. We also observe that Froude numbers at which these crossovers between the regimes happen are independent of the depth $h$ and the diameter of the intruder $D$. We also report the numerical results on the average coordination number of the intruder and average contact angle as functions of intruder velocity.