We analyze inertial granular flows and show that, for all values of the inertial number $I$, the effective friction coefficient $\mu$ arises from three different parameters pertaining to the contact network and force transmission: (1) contact anisotropy, (2) force chain anisotropy, and (3) friction mobilization. Our extensive 3D numerical simulations reveal that $\mu$ increases with $I$ mainly due to an increasing contact anisotropy and partially by friction mobilization whereas the anisotropy of force chains declines as a result of the destabilizing effect of particle inertia. The contact network undergoes topological transitions, and beyond $I\simeq 0.1$ the force chains break into clusters immersed in a background “soup” of floating particles. We show that this transition coincides with the divergence of the size of fluidized zones characterized from the local environments of floating particles and a slower increase of $\mu$ with $I$.

• Received 4 September 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.078001