ABSTRACT
The experiments were carried out with a rough sand of mean diameter d¯ = 360 µm determined by Laser Diffraction Granulometry. The particle size distribution has been characterized by the dispersion coefficient, (d0,9 − d0,1)/d0,5 equal to 0.664. Initially grains are gently poured into a container through a sieve of 800 µm mesh width placed at 10 mm height. The sieve is gradually raised up during the filling of the container. This system produces a rain of particles with no pressure dip at the center of the packings and a quite reproducible packing fraction (Geng et al. 2001; Vanel & Clement 1999).
