Degenerate Parabolic Models for Sand Slides

Abstract The morphodynamic evolution of the shape of dunes and piles of granular material is largely dictated by avalanching phenomena, acting when the local slope gets steeper than a critical repose angle. A class of degenerate parabolic models are proposed closing a mass balance equation with several viscoplastic constitutive laws to describe the motion of the sliding layer. Comparison between them is carried out by means of computational simulations putting in evidence the features that depend on the closure constitutive assumption and the robust aspects of the models. The versatility of the model is shown applying it to the movement of sand in presence of walls, open ends, columns, doors, and in complicated geometries.