Self-organized criticality in a sheared granular stick-slip system

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2001 Jun;63(6 Pt 1):061312. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.63.061312. Epub 2001 May 29.

Abstract

We present an analysis of results obtained from a mechanical apparatus consisting of an annular plate shearing over a granular bed. The size, energy dissipation, and duration of slips in the system exhibit power-law distributions and a 1/f(2) power spectrum, in accordance with self-organized criticality. We draw similarities with earthquakes.