Stress response function of a granular layer: Quantitative comparison between experiments and isotropic elasticity

Abstract:

We measured the vertical pressure response function of a layer of sand submitted to a localized normal force at its surface. We found that this response profile depends on the way the layer has been prepared: all profiles show a single centered peak whose width scales with the thickness of the layer, but a dense packing gives a wider peak than a loose one. We calculate the prediction of isotropic elastic theory in the presence of a bottom boundary and compare it to the data. We found that the theory gives the right scaling and the correct qualitative shape, but fails to really fit the data.