Pressure wave propagation in a granular bed.

The transmission of pressure waves in granular materials is complicated by the heterogeneity and nonlinearity inherent in these systems. Such waves are propagated through particle contacts primarily along the "force chains" which carry most of the load in granular materials. These fragile and ephemeral chains coupled with irregular particle packing lead to the observed heterogeneity. Nonlinearity in these systems is largely the result of the force-deformation characteristic at particle contacts. Through experiments and simulations, we study the effects of heterogeneity and nonlinearity on the properties of pressure waves through a granular bed.