Random packings of frictionless particles

We conduct numerical simulations of random packings of frictionless particles at T = 0. The packing fraction where the pressure becomes nonzero is the same as the jamming threshold, where the static shear modulus becomes nonzero. The distribution of threshold packing fractions narrows, and its peak approaches random close packing as the system size increases. For packing fractions within the peak, there is no self-averaging, leading to exponential decay of the interparticle force distribution.     

Velocity profiles in repulsive athermal systems under shear

We conduct molecular dynamics simulations of athermal systems undergoing boundary-driven planar shear flow in two and three spatial dimensions. We find that these systems possess nonlinear mean velocity profiles when the velocity u of the shearing wall exceeds a critical value u(c). Above u(c), we also show that the packing fraction and mean-square velocity profiles become spatially dependent with dilation and enhanced velocity fluctuations near the moving boundary. In systems with overdamped dynamics, u(c) is only weakly dependent on packing fraction phi. However, in systems with underdamped dynamics, u(c) is set by the speed of shear waves in the material and tends to zero as phi approaches phi(c), which is near random close packing at small damping. For underdamped systems with phi相似文献   

Reynolds number dependence of the drag coefficient for laminar flow through fine-scale photoetched screens

The laminar steady flow downstream of fine-mesh screens is studied. Instead of woven-wire screens, high-uniformity screens are fabricated by photoetching holes into 50.8 m thick Inconel sheets. The resulting screens have minimum wire widths of 50.8 m and inter-wire separations of 254 m and 318 m for the two screens examined. A flow facility has been constructed for experiments with these screens. Air is passed through the screens at upstream velocities yielding wire width Reynolds numbers from 2 to 35. To determine the drag coefficient, pressure drops across the screens are measured using pressure transducers and manometers. Threedimensional flow simulations are also performed. The computational drag coefficients consistently overpredict the experimental values. However, the computational results exhibit sensitivity to the assumed wire cross section, indicating that detailed knowledge of the wire cross section is essential for unambiguous interpretation of experiments using photoetched screens. Standard semi-empirical drag correlations for woven-wire screens do not predict the present experimental results with consistent accuracy.List of symbols A ₁, A ₂ screen aspect ratios - c _d screen drag coefficient - d woven-wire diameter - D photoetched minimum wire width (spanwise) - f woven-wire screen drag function - M distance between adjacent wires - N spectral-element order - o woven-wire open area fraction - O photoetched open area fraction - _p pressure drop across screen - Re _d woven-wire diameter Reynolds number - Re _D photoetched wire width Reynolds number - U fluid velocity upstream of screen - W photoetched sheet thickness (streamwise) - x, y, z spatial coordinates - fluid density - fluid viscosity     

Elasticity theory of a twisted stack of plates

We present an elastic model of B-form DNA as a stack of thin, rigid plates or base pairs that are not permitted to deform. The symmetry of DNA and the constraint of plate rigidity limit the number of bulk elastic constants contributing to a macroscopic elasticity theory of DNA to four. We derive an effective twist-stretch energy in terms of the macroscopic stretch along and relative excess twist about the DNA molecular axis. In addition to the bulk stretch and twist moduli found previously, we obtain a twist-stretch modulus with the following remarkable properties: 1) it vanishes when the radius of the helical curve following the geometric center of each plate is zero, 2) it vanishes with the elastic constant K₂₃ that couples compression normal to the plates to a shear strain, if the plates are perpendicular to the molecular axis, and 3) it is nonzero if the plates are tilted relative to the molecular axis. This implies that a laminated helical structure carved out of an isotropic elastic medium will not twist in response to a stretching force, but an isotropic material will twist if it is bent into the shape of a helix. Received: 4 July 1997 / Received in final form: 16 October 1997 / Accepted: 21 October 1997     

Jamming transition and new percolation universality classes in particulate systems with attraction

We numerically study the jamming transition in particulate systems with attraction by investigating their mechanical response at zero temperature (T=0). We find three regimes of mechanical behavior separated by two critical transitions--connectivity and rigidity percolation. The transitions belong to different universality classes than their lattice counterparts, due to force balance constraints. We also find that these transitions are unchanged at low temperatures and resemble gelation transitions in experiments on colloidal and silica gels.     

Force Distributions near Jamming and Glass Transitions

We calculate the distribution of interparticle normal forces P(F) near the glass and jamming transitions in model supercooled liquids and foams, respectively. P(F) develops a peak that appears near the glass or jamming transitions, whose height increases with decreasing temperature, decreasing shear stress and increasing packing density. A similar shape of P(F) was observed in experiments on static granular packings. We propose that the appearance of this peak signals the development of a yield stress. The sensitivity of the peak to temperature, shear stress, and density lends credence to the recently proposed generalized jamming phase diagram.     

Reynolds number dependence of the drag coefficient for laminar flow through electrically-heated photoetched screens

Experiments are performed to measure the drag coefficient of electrically-heated screens. Square-pattern 80 mesh and 100 mesh screens of 50.8 m-wide wires photoetched from 50.8 m thick Inconel sheets are examined. Ambient air is passed through these screens at upstream velocities yielding wire-width Reynolds numbers from 2 to 35, and electrical current is passed through the screens to generate heat fluxes from o to 0.17 MW/m², based on the total screen area. The dependence of the drag coefficient on Reynolds number and heat flux is determined for these two screens by measuring pressure drops across the screens for a variety of conditions in these ranges. In all cases, heating is found to increase the drag coefficient above the unheated value. A correlation relating the heated drag coefficient to the unheated drag coefficient is developed based on the idea that the main effect of heating at these levels is to modify the Reynolds number through modifying the viscosity. This correlation is seen to reproduce the experimental results closely.List of Symbols A total screen cross sectional area - C fitting coefficient, near unity - c _D heated drag coefficient - c _{D, 0} unheated drag coefficient - C _p air specific heat at constant pressure - D photoetched wire width, sheet thickness - h _s stagnation point heat-transfer coefficient - k air thermal conductivity - M distance between adjacent wires - O open area fraction - p air pressure - p air pressure drop across screen - Pr Prandtl number for air, c _p/k - Q total electrical power to screen - R radius of curvature at stagnation point - Re _D wire width Reynolds number, UD/ - T air temperature - U air speed upstream of screen - air specific heat ratio - air density - air viscosity - exponent in temperature power law for viscosity - () quantity () evaluated at heated screen temperature The authors thank John Lewin and Bob Meyer for their assistance in the design and fabrication of the heated screen test facility and Tom Grasser for his help in performing the experiments. This work was performed at Sandia National laboratories, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC04-94AL85000.     

Entropy and temperature of a static granular assembly: an ab initio approach

We construct a statistical framework for static assemblies of deformable grains which parallels that of equilibrium statistical mechanics but with a conservation principle based on the mechanical stress tensor. We define a state function that has all the attributes of entropy. In particular, maximizing this function leads to a well-defined granular temperature and the equivalent of the Boltzman distribution for ensembles of grain packings. Predictions of the ensemble are verified against simulated packings of frictionless, deformable disks.     

Jamming in attractive granular media

The jamming transition is studied numerically in systems of particles with attraction. Unlike the purely repulsive case where a single transition separates the jammed from unjammed phase, the presence of even an infinitesimal amount of attraction yields two distinct transitions: connectivity and rigidity percolation. We measure critical exponents of these two percolation transitions and find that they are different than the corresponding lattice values. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)