Force distribution in a granular medium

We report on systematic measurements of the distribution of normal forces exerted by granular material under uniaxial compression onto the interior surfaces of a confining vessel. Our experiments on three-dimensional, random packings of monodisperse glass beads show that this distribution is nearly uniform for forces below the mean force and decays exponentially for forces greater than the mean. The shape of the distribution and the value of the exponential decay constant are unaffected by changes in the system preparation history or in the boundary conditions. An empirical functional form for the distribution is proposed that provides an excellent fit over the whole force range measured and is also consistent with recent computer simulation data.