Note: "Lock-in accelerometry" to follow sink dynamics in shaken granular matter

TL;DR

This paper introduces Lock in accelerometry, a novel method to monitor intruder sink dynamics in 3D granular beds using accelerometer signals, applicable in non-transparent materials and relevant for geophysical and construction scenarios.

Contribution

The paper presents a new technique, Lock in accelerometry, for tracking intruder penetration in granular media through accelerometer signal correlation, overcoming limitations of visual methods in opaque materials.

Findings

Successfully demonstrated the method in laboratory settings.

Able to quantify sink dynamics in non-transparent granular beds.

Potential applications in earthquake-affected soil monitoring.

Abstract

Understanding the penetration dynamics of intruders in granular beds is relevant not only for fundamental Physics, but also for geophysical processes and construction on sediments or granular soils in areas potentially affected by earthquakes. While the penetration of intruders in two dimensional (2D) laboratory granular beds can be followed using video recording, it is useless in three dimensional (3D) beds of non-transparent materials such as common sand. Here we propose a method to quantify the sink dynamics of an intruder into laterally shaken granular beds based on the temporal correlations between the signals from a reference accelerometer fixed to the shaken granular bed, and a probe accelerometer deployed inside the intruder. Due to its analogy with the working principle of a lock in amplifier, we call this technique Lock in accelerometry (LIA). During Earthquakes, some soils can lose their ability to sustain shear and deform, causing subsidence and sometimes substantial building damage due to deformation or tumbling