Force distribution in a granular medium subjected to an impulse loading is investigated in experiment and computer simulations. An experimental technique is developed to measure forces acting on individual grains at the bottom of the granular sample consisting of steel balls. Discrete element method simulation also is performed under conditions mimicking those in experiment. Both theory and experiment display exponentially decaying maximum force distributions at the bottom of the sample in the range of large forces. In addition, the simulations also reveal exponential force distribution throughout the sample and uncover correlation properties of the interparticle forces during dynamic loading of the granular samples. Simulated time dependence of coordination number, orientational order parameter, correlation radius, and force distribution clearly demonstrates the nonequilibrium character of the deformation process in a granular medium under impulse loading.

The approach to the study of the seismically active zone as an open system that is in a state of self-organized criticality is becoming increasingly used in modern research. The models used in this approach should reflect the most characteristic features of such media: discreteness, nonequilibrium, nonlinear and nonlocal nature of interactions. In this paper, the medium is modeled by a granular massif with ribbed grains. Three different massifs are used in the research. Within one massif, all grains are identical, while grains from different massifs differ in shape (cubic or irregular ribbed) and characteristic size. A number of experiments of shear deformation of such granular massifs were carried out in order to study the influence of the shape and size of grains on the statistical charac-teristics of the process. The influence of the stress state on the deformation properties of these media was also studied. The experiments proved the qualitative similarity of the behavior of different granular media. Obtained experimentally force jumps, represen-ting the reaction of the granular medium to shear deformation, obey the distributions in the form of power dependencies. However, the magnitudes of the forces arising in the massifs depend on the grain shape and size as well as the stress state in the massifs. The experiments with shear deformation of the granular media under the external action of small impulse stresses have shown that such action causes a smoother, devoid of sharp jumps, deformation. External perturbations shift the distribution of the force jumps towards smaller values, leaving their exponents unchanged. The analysis of experimental results using nonadditive statistical mechanics confirmed the presence of long-range correlations in the massif of ribbed granules during its shear deformation.