ABSTRACT
In soil mechanics and powder technology, granular materials are often filled by a wetting or binding liquid that plays a key role in their rheological properties. For example, the triggering of landslides and sediment transport involve the rheology of dense mixtures of grains and water (Iverson, Reid, Iverson, LaHusen, Logan, Mann, & Brien 2000). The slope stability by vegetation is also governed by the hydro-mechanical properties of the root-soil matrix (Ghestem, Sidle, & Stokes 2011).Another example is the so-called vadoze zone (above the phreatic zone) where water is retained by adhesion and capillary action without being necessarily saturated. The properties of this zone are essential for agriculture and pollution transport. In the same way, the hydro-textural evolution of wetted granular materials is an important problem in industrial processes such as wet mixing and agglomeration of ores and powders (Ruiz, Rondet, Delalonde, & Desfours 2011).
