Investigation on the rheological properties of dense granular inertial flow based on the contact features of four dual-partitioned subnetworks.

The rheological properties of shear granular system under inertial flow regimes are investigated by fully considering both strong/weak and sliding/non-sliding contact features of four dual-partitioned subnetworks. Discrete element simulation results reveal that strong non-sliding subnetwork plays a dominant role in bearing external load. For strong sliding and weak non-sliding subnetworks, their anisotropy principal directions of normal contact forces undergo dynamic deflections during evolution, resulting in the lateral support of microstructures being primarily borne by unstable sliding contacts. Although the subnetworks display substantial variations in stability, their strong spatial correlation makes these variations complement each other, forming an intrinsic coupling relationship. [Display omitted] • The whole contact network is divided into four dual-partitioned subnetworks. • Flow evolution alters both the anisotropy and geometric relationships of dual-partitioned subnetworks. • The subnetworks complement each other in stability to achieve dynamic balance within microstructures. • Sliding subnetworks provide lateral support for granular system and contribute to flow evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]