Dilatancy (granular material) dilation. Because of dilatancy, the angle of friction increases as the confinement increases until it reaches a peak value. After the peak strength of the soil is mobilized the angle of friction abruptly decreases. As a result, geotechnical engineering of slopes, footings, tunnels, and piles in such soils have to consider the potential decrease in strength after the soil strength reaches this peak value. Poorly / uniformly graded silt with trace sand to sandy that is non-plastic can be associated with challenges during construction, even when they are hard. These materials often appear to be granular because the silt is
Granular convection similar density, such as muesli mix. Under experimental conditions, granular convection of variously sized particles has been observed forming convection cells similar to fluid motion. The convection of granular flows is becoming a well-understood phenomenon. It may be counterintuitive to find that the largest and (presumably) heaviest particles rise to the top, but several explanations are possible: The phenomenon is related to Parrondo's paradox in as much as the Brazil nuts move to the top of the mixed nuts against the gravitational gradient when subjected to random shaking. Granular convection has been probed by the use of MRI where convection