Interface roughness effect on slow cyclic annular shear of granular materials

We experimentally investigate the mechanical behaviour in cyclic shear of a granular material near a solid wall in a pressure controlled annular shear cell. The use of a model system (glass beads and saw-tooth shaped solid surface) enables the study of the influence of the wall roughness. After an initial shakedown procedure ensuring reproducible results in subsequent tests, wall shear stress S, volumetric variation ΔV, and the displacement field of the sample bottom surface, are recorded as functions of wall displacement. A dimensionless roughness parameter R _n is shown to control the interface response. The local grain-level or mesoscale behaviour is directly correlated to the global one on the scale of the whole sample.