Effects of granular size on stress transmission in a granular column

We investigate the deflection and the fluctuation of stresses due to different sizes of granular material in a cylindrical column. It is experimentally observed that the saturation mass systemically increases with granule diameter . The results indicate the shielding of vertical stress in silo is varying. We show that the ratio between the horizontal and the vertical stresses, K, decreases with the increase in grainule diameter d. In addition, it has also been found that the presence of larger granules leads to stronger stress fluctuation on the bottom plate of silo.