Quicklists
Javascript must be enabled

Frederic Lechenault : Experimental investigation of equilibration properties in model granular subsystems (Nov 18, 2008 2:45 PM)

We experimentally investigate the statistical features of the stationary states reached by two idealized granular liquids able to exchange volume. The system consists in two binary mixtures of the same number of soft disks, hence covering the same area, but with different surface properties. The disks sit on a horizontal air table, which provides ultra low friction at the cell bottom, and are separated by a mobile wall. Energy is injected in the system by means of an array of randomly activated coil bumpers standing as the edges of the cell. Due to the energy injection, the system acts like a slow liquid and eventually jams at higher packing fraction. We characterize the macroscopic states by studying the motion of the piston. We find that its average position is different from one half, and a non monotonic function of the overall packing fraction, which reveals the crucial role played by the surface properties in the corresponding density of states. We then study the bulk statistics of the packing fraction and the dynamics in each subsystem. We find that the measured quantities do not equilibrate, and become dramatically different as the overall packing fraction is increased beyond the onset of supercooling. However, the local fluctuations of the packing fraction are uniquely determined by its average, and hence independent of the interaction between disks. We then focus on the mixing properties of such an assembly. We characterize mixing by computing the topological entropy of the braids formed by the stationary trajectories of the grains at each pressure. This quantity is shown to be well defined, very sensitive to onset of supercooling, reflecting the dynamical arrest of the assembly, and to equilibrate in the two subsystems. Joint work with Karen Daniels.

Add to Favorites

Please select playlist name from following

Create new playlist

Report Video

Please select the category that most closely reflects your concern about the video, so that we can review it and determine whether it violates our Community Guidelines or isn’t appropriate for all viewers. Abusing this feature is also a violation of the Community Guidelines, so don’t do it.

0 Comments

Comments Disabled For This Video