Motion and impact of solid bodies in granular media

• Grant number: 22/12511-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: March 16, 2023
• End date: March 12, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Thermal Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Erick de Moraes Franklin
• Grantee: Douglas Daniel de Carvalho
• Supervisor: Antoine Seguin
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica (FEM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Fluides, Automatique et Systèmes Thermiques (FAST), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/04151-7 - The motion of an intruder within granular matter, BP.DR

Abstract

From the movement of animals and machines on and within granular matter to the penetration and collision of solid objects in the sand, the displacement of a solid body (intruder) within a granular medium is ubiquitous in nature and human activities. Furthermore, global warming is leading to the creation of more and more desert areas on the planet. The delivery and transport of goods in these desert areas is a challenge for the coming years. Thus, the fundamental understanding of the interaction between one or more moving objects on a granular substrate remains a fundamental and practical challenge. Therefore, we propose a work in two parts to investigate experimentally: i) thedisplacements of a set of intruders initially buried in a granular environment, exploring the collective effects at play between them, in order to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the dynamics of their movements and ii) investigate the penetration of an intruder into a granular medium by impact while the same medium is rotated at a constant speed, aiming to evaluate the deviation from the usual results obtained on the impacts of solid intruders on non-rotating substrates, analyzing both the penetration depth of the projectile as well as its penetration time. Both works will be carried out at the FAST (Fluides, Automatique et Systhèmes Thermiques) laboratory in France, under the supervision of Prof. Antoine Seguin, aiming to give continuity to similar problems that we are currently studying numerically in Brazil. Understanding the interactions between multiple intruders in a granular environment is important to better rationalize the efficiency of diverse practical situations in many engineering topics. In addition, understanding subjects related to projectile penetration is important to better understand the formation of craters on the surface of the Earth and other celestial bodies. (AU)