Abstract
In this study, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is applied to simulate gravity granular flow past forward-facing and rearward-facing pyramids (tetrahedral) wedge. These types of obstacles used as a typical defense structure to divert the flow and guide the avalanches to pass the protected buildings and areas. The elastic-perfectly plastic model with the implementation of Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is applied to simulate the material behavior. The numerical results are then compared with experimental data, and numerical results obtained from quasi-two-dimensional flows model. The results obtained from these comparisons show that the SPH method is capable to describe the behavior of the flow around such obstacles and can capture the formation of shock waves, dead zones, and granular vacuum.
