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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

The Role of Fabric in Frictional Properties of Phyllosilicate-Rich Tectonic Faults
Published on: November 6, 2021
Rolling friction on a granular medium
Fabio Vittorio De Blasio1, May-Britt Saeter
1Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
We present experimental results for the rolling of spheres on a granular bed. We use two sets of glass and steel spheres with varying diameters and a high-speed camera to follow the motion of the spheres. Despite the complex phenomena occurring during the rolling, the results show a friction coefficient nearly independent of the velocity (0.45-0.5 for glass and 0.6-0.65 for steel). It is found that for a given sphere density, the large spheres reach a longer distance, a result that may also help explain the rock sorting along natural stone accumulations at the foot of mountain slopes.
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