Angle of repose experiments with natural and spherical snow

Angle of repose experiments were performed with different snow types at temperatures between -2 and -40°C. They were used to examine granular snow dynamics on the grain-scale with focus on the role of grain shape and cohesion. The angle of repose was observed by sieving snow onto a round, freestanding base until a stationary heap was formed.

This dataset consists of 1) the images of the experimental heaps that were taken to determine the angle of repose, 2) one binary 3D micro computed tomography image of each snow type. The CT images were taken with the SLF micro-CT40 to characterize snow properties and grain shape.

The experiments with natural snow types (rounded and faceted grains) and spherical model snow allowed for an examination of the differences in granular properties between natural grain shapes and spherical particles in view of Discrete Element Modelling. With the chosen temperatures, the effect of sintering could be observed that increases the angle of repose with increasing temperature.