Effects of interparticle cohesion on the collapse of granular columns

Cohesive forces occur at the particle scale and have effects up to the macroscopic scale. Using the canonical configuration of a column of grains collapsing under its own weight in air, this paper reports that a bulk description framework of cohesive effects can account for the macroscopic observations. Experiments are reported with two different cohesion sources, capillary bridges or a polymer coating, for the collapse of rectangular and cylindrical granular columns. The bulk framework is shown to capture the effects of cohesion on the final deposit for both sources of cohesion.