Probabilistic analysis of random contact force between geomembrane and granular material

A probabilistic method based on principle of maximum entropy was employed to analyze the randomness of contact force between geomembrane and granular material. The contact force distribution is exponential according to the proposed method and the grain size is the most important factor that affects the distribution of contact force. The proposed method is then verified by a series of laboratory experiments using glass beads and cobbles as granular material and a very thin pressure, indicating that film is firstly used in these experiments which give a reliable method to measure the contact force at each contact point.