Starting to move through a granular medium

Abstract

We explore the process of initiating motion through a granular medium by measuring the force required to push a flat circular plate upward from underneath the medium. In contrast to previous measurements of the drag and penetration forces, which were conducted during steady state motion, the initiation force has a robust dependence on the diameter of the grains forming the pile. We attribute this dependence to the requirement for local dilation of the grains around the circumference of the plate, as evidenced by an observed linear dependence of the initiation force on the plate diameter.