Intermittent granular flow and clogging with internal avalanches

The dynamics of intermittent granular flow through an orifice at the bottom of a granular bin and the associated clogging due to formation of arches blocking the outlet, is studied numerically in two dimensions. When the hole size is less than the grain diameter, only a single grain is removed from the system so that the system self-organizes to a steady state and the distribution of the grain displacements decays as power laws. On the other hand, when hole sizes are within few times of the grain diameter, the outflow distributions are also observed to follow a power law. Received 21 July 1999 and Received in final form 17 September 1999     

Stress fluctuations in monodisperse and bidisperse rapid granular shear flows

Local stress fluctuations are measured in annular rapid shear flows of granular medium made of steel spheres with 2 and 3 mm in diameter. Both monodisperse packing and bidisperse packing are investigated to reveal the influence of size diversity on intermittent features of granular materials. Experiments are conducted in an annulus that can contain up to 15 kg of the spherical steel balls. Shearing of granular medium takes place via the rotation of the upper plate which compresses the material loaded inside the annulus. Fluctuations of compressive force are locally measured at the bottom of the annulus based on piezoelectric phenomenon. Rapid shear flow experiments are pursued at different compressive forces and shear rates and the sensitivity of fluctuations is then investigated by different means through monodisperse and bidisperse packings.     

Segregation in arch formation

We report new segregation phenomena in the clogging arches formed during the discharge of granular piles. Results from molecular dynamics simulations show segregation effects with respect to both size and density ratios used in piles built with bidisperse mixtures of grains. The clogging arch is preferentially constituted of large grains when size bidisperse piles were discharged, whereas for density bidisperse mixtures there is a predominance of light grains in the arch for large orifice widths but, for small widths, an inversion in the preference is observed, with a slightly higher incidence of heavy grains forming the arches. We present arguments based on the reverse buoyancy effect and the statistics collected for the avalanche size distributions to explain how these effects can be understood as a crossover between two different segregation mechanisms acting independently at small and large orifice width limits.     

A model for the packing of irregularly shaped grains

In this paper we will attempt to address the problem of the packing properties of granular materials composed of irregularly shaped grains (using configurational statistical mechanics). In particular, we will develop a model for a system of irregular grains based upon perturbing a packing of mono- or poly-disperse spheres. In the mono-disperse case we will show that the system packs less densely than a packing of perfect spheres, except when local correlations between configurations of grains are taken into account. The opposite is found to be true for a perturbation expansion based upon poly-disperse spheres. Finally we will show that for a bi-disperse packing of spheres phase segregation occurs for any size ratio and discuss whether this is to be expected.     

Silo clogging reduction by the presence of an obstacle

We present experimental results on the effect that inserting an obstacle just above the outlet of a silo has on the clogging process. We find that, if the obstacle position is properly selected, the probability that the granular flow is arrested can be reduced by a factor of 100. This dramatic effect occurs without any remarkable modification of the flow rate or the packing fraction above the outlet, which are discarded as the cause of the change in the clogging probability. Hence, inspired by previous results of pedestrian crowd dynamics, we propose that the physical mechanism behind the clogging reduction is a pressure decrease in the region of arch formation.     

Study of the topology of metal-containing granular films by light scattering and atomic force microscopy

The correlation properties of films consisting of granular structures with granules smaller than 6 nm prepared by the laser electrodispersion method are investigated. The correlation functions of the nanoparticle distribution on a transparent substrate are calculated from the angular structure of scattered radiation using the single-scattering approximation, as well as from the data of atomic force microscopy for copper, nickel, and palladium structures with different packing density. The size of coarse particles in nanostructures is estimated.     

二维颗粒流通道宽度效应的分子动力学模拟

通过用分子动力学方法对颗粒物质流的计算机模拟，研究发现增大通道宽度可以使二维颗粒流从稀疏流转变为密集流状态.通过对不同通道宽度下，固定开口为9.5d的颗粒流和 漏斗口以上9.5d×8d区域记录的模拟结果分析，发现随通道宽度增大，密度变大、温 度降低.当“颗粒温度”T较低时(T/m<0.05 J/kg),颗粒流内部接触数开始超过1.2 ，同时出现较为牢固的横向链状颗粒团簇，是造成流量突变以及密集流的原因. 关键词： 颗粒物质 颗粒流 计算机模拟     

Role of fluctuation-induced interactions in the axial segregation of granular materials

The movement of a few large diameter spheres immersed in a granular medium composed of smaller beads in a rotating cylinder is studied. We evidence attractions and repulsions between the large spheres depending on the rotation frequency. The large spheres also show relative position fluctuations which are Gaussian. A complete study of this problem sheds new light on the problem of size segregation in granular materials and points to the importance of fluctuation-induced interactions.     

The statistical mechanics of granular systems composed of spheres and elongated grains

In this paper we will apply a statistical mechanical theory of granular materials to a system composed of a mixture of elongated rods and spheres (both mono- and polydisperse). We will show for a system of rods and spheres that the system's constituents do not completely phase segregate even at minimum close packing. The generalisation of this to packings of rods and bi-disperse spheres produces a similar result except that the two species of sphere do phase segregate at some particular packing.     

Dynamical heterogeneity close to the jamming transition in a sheared granular material

The dynamics of a bidimensional dense granular packing under cyclic shear is experimentally investigated close to the jamming transition. Measurement of multipoint correlation functions are produced. The self-intermediate scattering function, displaying slower than exponential relaxation, suggests dynamic heterogeneity. Further analysis of four point correlation functions reveal that the grain relaxations are strongly correlated and spatially heterogeneous, especially at the time scale of the collective rearrangements. Finally, a dynamical correlation length is extracted from a spatiotemporal pattern of mobility. Our experimental results open the way to a systematic study of dynamic correlation functions in granular materials.     

直径任意分布球填充的数值模拟

提出球填充数值算法的新分类方法.改进原有的松弛算法,使其能够模拟直径任意分布的球填充问题,采用可变循环周期使不同球数情形下的填充率基本保持不变.算例数据表明,该算法的填充率和配位数均高于原算法.由于采用背景网格搜索和双向链表组数据结构,使得邻接球搜索效率有相当大的提高,算法的时间复杂度为O(N)(N为球数).在一台AMD Athlon 3200+PC上,对于10000个等径球的随机密排列,只需217s,填充率即可达到0.64.     

Microstructure characterization of granular materials

This paper presents techniques and algorithms to compute microstructure properties of irregular-shaped granulate assemblies utilizing 3D images. The techniques are capable of extracting microstructure properties of particles such as centeroid, particle size distribution, shape indices (i.e., sphericiy and angularity), number of contacts (i.e., distribution of coordination numbers), contact network, packing efficiency, distribution of local void ratio and radial distribution function. Such properties are critical parameters for micromechanical-based numerical models to capture micro- and macromechanical behavior of geomaterials. X-ray microtomography was used to reconstruct high-resolution 3D image of a natural sand system to represent granular materials. Microstructure properties of the sand system were computed and compared with properties of a computer-simulated image of periodic random spheres. Findings indicate that the use of simplified systems of idealized spheres to model micro- and macromechanical behavior of granular systems can lead to inaccurate results due to the differences in the microstructure between both systems. Methods presented in this paper enabled capturing a more realistic microstructure that can be incorporated in micromechanical models to better simulate, understand, or explain macroscale behavior of granular materials based on their actual microstructure.     

Diffusive Wave Spectroscopy of a random close packing of spheres

We are interested in the propagation of light in a random packing of dielectric spheres within the geometrical optics approximation. Numerical simulations are performed using a ray tracing algorithm. The effective refractive indexes and the transport mean free path are computed for different refractive indexes of spheres and intersticial media. The variations of the optical path length under small deformations of the spheres assembly are also computed and compared to the results of Diffusive Wave Spectroscopy experiments. Finally, we propose a measure of the transport mean free path and a Diffusive Wave Spectroscopy experiment on a packing of glass spheres. The results of those experiments agree with the predictions of this ray tracing approach.     

Multi-scale analysis of the stress state in a granular slope in transition to failure

By means of contact dynamics simulations, we analyze the stress state in a granular bed slowly tilted toward its angle of repose. An increasingly large number of grains are overloaded in the sense that they are found to carry a stress ratio above the Coulomb yield threshold of the whole packing. Using this property, we introduce a coarse-graining length scale at which all stress ratios are below the packing yield threshold. We show that this length increases with the slope angle and jumps to a length comparable to the depth of the granular bed at an angle below the angle of repose. This transition coincides with the onset of dilation in the packing. We map this transition into a percolation transition of the overloaded grains, and discuss it in terms of long-range correlations and granular slope metastability.     

Diffusion of a single particle in a 3D random packing of spheres

We report an experimental study of the dispersion properties of individual spherical particles of size d, moving under gravity in a dry random packing of large spheres of size D. The diameter ratio d/D is below the critical value 0.1547 above which beads get pinned inside the packing . They move in this regime at a constant mean velocity decreasing with the ratio d/D. We analyse dispersion parallel and transverse to the mean velocity by studying the bead distribution in the x-y plane at the exit of the packing (radial dispersion) and the transit time distribution (longitudinal dispersion) while varying the height H of the bed. Diffusion in both directions is found to be governed essentially by the diameter D of packed spheres and not by the size d of the small beads. A dispersivity length characterising the spreading amplitude is determined. Comparisons between transverse and longitudinal dispersion demonstrate that both processes have similar properties. A key parameter is the diameter D which controls the path length of the particles. Received 5 November 1999 and Received in final form 30 March 2000     

三维漏斗中颗粒物质堵塞问题的数值实验研究

对于工程和实验中使用漏斗颗粒流而言,连续稳定的流量是必要的.当漏斗口较小时,很容易发生堵塞行为.堵塞现象对于交通流、疏散问题等也具有重要的意义.前人主要使用扰动的方法破坏漏斗中已有的堵塞,以便引起下一次堵塞,加快实验进程.本文利用自主开发的基于GPU(graphics processing unit)的密集颗粒流模拟程序,主要研究当三维漏斗开口打开后的第一次堵塞行为,不再引入扰动.详细讨论了漏斗开口尺寸、漏斗锥角等几何参数对坍塌规模的影响.发现对于坍塌规模的概率分布符合前人的研究结果,可以分为两部分:峰的左边呈幂函数上升形式,峰的右边呈指数衰减趋势.对于漏斗开口尺寸和漏斗锥角而言,均存在一个临界值使得堵塞不再发生.     

Boundary effects on the maximal angle of stability of a granular packing

We have studied the maximal angle of stability of a granular packing confined between two walls. The effect of the walls is to increase the angle dramatically. The decay of the angle with the distance between the walls is exponential with a characteristic length which is a function of the beads diameter. The effect of the roughness of the walls has been also studied. Received 1 April 1999     

Modelling local voids using an irregular polyhedron based on natural neighbourhood and application to characterize near-dense random packing (DRP)

A model has been developed for finding local voids in randomly packed monodisperse spheres. The voids are polyhedral in shape and are based on the natural neighbourhood concept. The natural neighbourhood is defined in the same spirit of Sibson, who introduced the concept as a refinement of Voronoi tessellation. The model is basically the construction of a Delaunay star, where the centre of the Delaunay star is an arbitrary point in the void and the vertices of the star are the sphere centres. The method is best suited for sampling study. Since the model does not use the radius of the spheres, it can even be used for point distribution in three-dimensional (3-D) space. The model can be improved by using Voronoi vertices as seed points (instead of the arbitrary points) and can be used for crystallochemical studies, where only the electron density distribution is known. It is applicable to non-spherical atoms/particles also. The method is used to analyze near-dense random packing (DRP) and the statistical properties of void structures, e.g. number of vertices per void, cell volume, void volume and void fraction, which do not change from packing to packing in the limit of DRP. The overall local void properties are insensitive to sampling; repeatedly taking 500 void samples in an ensemble did not show considerable change. Most of the voids have 9–12 vertices.     

颗粒孔洞流的最大休止倾角和流量公式

实验测量了重力驱动下的玻璃珠颗粒样品通过不同倾角和孔径的圆形孔洞的卸载流量.发现无论孔径大小,流量均与倾角的余弦呈良好的线性关系;线性外推得到的零流量角,即流量休止临界角随颗粒粒径与孔洞直径之比的减小而线性增加;在无穷大孔径极限下,此临界角在Bagnold角的误差范围内与样品的安息角一致.这些结果表明流量随倾角余弦线性变化的经验公式能揭示临界角的行为和特性,这是参数随倾角变化的Beverloo公式所不能描述的. 关键词： 颗粒物质 倾斜孔洞流 Beverloo公式     

The state space of short-range Ising spin glasses: the density of states

The correlations between the segments of a semidilute polymer solution are found to induce correlations in the positions of small particles added to the solution. Small means a diameter much less than the polymer's correlation length. In the presence of polymer the particles behave as if they attracted each other. It is shown how the polymer's correlation length may be determined from a scattering experiment performed on the spheres. Received: 7 July 1997 / Received in final form: 12 November 1997 / Accepted: 19 November 1997