Distinguishing strength and stability in a jammed granular column as a function of fluid saturation

A wide variety of geotechnical, engineering, and physics studies have focused on the granular materials of different particle sizes and shapes for a variety of fluid saturations. These studies can be used to describe on a case by case basis the physical characteristics, such as shear wave and p-wave velocities, that are dominated by either the response of the granular material or the interstitial fluid matrix. What is lacking is a more universal description of the granular+fluid system, here in its jammed state, that can predict global characteristics such as strength and stability. We present a low-dimensional "phase space" model that outlines the contributions to relative strength and stability of a jammed granular column at different fractional fluid saturations as determined from prior bulk studies. While the model does not include higher order effects (spatial or temporal dependence of the parameters), it allows a granular temperature to be defined which allows the strength and stability of the column to be distinguished for a full range of fluid saturations. The model's success can be shown for two drastically different granular media: fine, nearly monodisperse, smaller grains and coarse, more polydisperse, larger grains.