Eur. Phys. J. B 11, 615-619 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510051189

Humidity effects on the stability of a sandpile

Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (UMR 6622 CNRS) , Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France

Corresponding author: ^a fraysse@unice.fr

Received: 26 October 1998
Revised: 30 March 1999
Published online: 15 October 1999

Abstract

Humidity is well-known to significantly affect the mechanical properties, static as well as dynamic, of granular materials. We present the method of humidification of granular media from an under-saturated vapor that we designed in order to experimentally quantify such moisture-induced effects under accurately-controlled humidity conditions. We report the quantitative measurements of the maximum angle of stability of a pile made of small glass beads, as a function of the relative vapor pressure, up to close to saturation. The results obtained with liquids differing in their wetting properties on glass, namely water and heptane, are presented. It is shown that the wetting properties of the liquid on the grains have a strong influence on the cohesion of the non-saturated granular medium.