Rheology of Aspherical Granular Particles*

We investigate the flow behavior of aspherical, granular particles in
planar-shear flow geometry using large-scale computer
simulations. Specifically, we explore how grain shape and friction influence
the constitutive "mu-of-I" rheology. We find that over a spectrum of grain
shapes, spanning spheres to cubes, particle friction affects the rheological
characterization more so than particle shape. Whereas, for a given particle
friction coefficient, particle shape affects the value of the bulk, dynamic
friction or stress aniostropy. We characterize these different flow regimes
using a range of structural and flow parameters.