Understanding of various natural phenomena and industrial processes such as landslides and bulk material handling requires research on the flow of granular materials. In this study, a 3-D numerical investigation of axisymmetric collapse of granular columns has been conducted using a commercial and research discrete element method (DEM) code. The simulated granular columns have an initial radius and height of 5.68 mm and 5.41 mm, respectively, rendering an initial aspect ratio (height/radius) of approximately 1.0. The columns consist of uniform spherical quartz particles with a diameter of 0.32 mm. The nonlinear particle-particle contact behavior and rotational resistance are indirectly accounted for in the DEM model. Comparison between the simulated final deposit morphology (e.g., final height and runout distance) with experimental results that are readily available in literature reveals the importance of rotational resistance in realistic simulations of granular column collapse.
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