Random packing of regular polygons and star polygons on a flat two-dimensional surface

Random packing of unoriented regular polygons and star polygons on a two-dimensional flat, continuous surface is studied numerically using random sequential adsorption algorithm. Obtained results are analyzed to determine saturated random packing ratio as well as its density autocorrelation function. Additionally, the kinetics of packing growth and available surface function are measured. In general, stars give lower packing ratios than polygons, but, when the number of vertexes is large enough, both shapes approach disks and, therefore, properties of their packing reproduce already known results for disks.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figure

Flow rate of polygonal grains through a bottleneck: Interplay between shape and size

We report two-dimensional simulations of circular and polygonal grains passing through an aperture at the bottom of a silo. The mass flow rate for regular polygons is lower than for disks as observed by other authors. We show that both the exit velocity of the grains and the packing fraction are lower for polygons, which leads to the reduced flow rate. We point out the importance of the criteria used to define when two objects of different shape are considered to be of the same size. Depending on this criteria, the mass flow rate may vary significantly for some polygons. Moreover, the particle flow rate is non-trivially related to a combination of mass flow rate, particle shape and particle size. For some polygons, the particle flow rate may be lower or higher than that of the corresponding disks depending on the size comparison criteria.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Identification of rolling resistance as a shape parameter in sheared granular media

Using contact dynamics simulations, we compare the effect of rolling resistance at the contacts in granular systems composed of disks with the effect of angularity in granular systems composed of regular polygonal particles. In simple shear conditions, we consider four aspects of the mechanical behavior of these systems in the steady state: shear strength, solid fraction, force and fabric anisotropies, and probability distribution of contact forces. Our main finding is that, based on the energy dissipation associated with relative rotation between two particles in contact, the effect of rolling resistance can explicitly be identified with that of the number of sides in a regular polygonal particle. This finding supports the use of rolling resistance as a shape parameter accounting for particle angularity and shows unambiguously that one of the main influencing factors behind the mechanical behavior of granular systems composed of noncircular particles is the partial hindrance of rotations as a result of angular particle shape.Comment: Soumis a Physical Review E; Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.84.01130

On the Multiple Packing Densities of Triangles

Given a convex disk $K$ and a positive integer $k$, let $\delta_T^k(K)$ and $\delta_L^k(K)$ denote the $k$-fold translative packing density and the $k$-fold lattice packing density of $K$, respectively. Let $T$ be a triangle. In a very recent paper, K. Sriamorn proved that $\delta_L^k(T)=\frac{2k^2}{2k+1}$. In this paper, I will show that $\delta_T^k(T)=\delta_L^k(T)$.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1412.539

Force transmission in a packing of pentagonal particles

We perform a detailed analysis of the contact force network in a dense confined packing of pentagonal particles simulated by means of the contact dynamics method. The effect of particle shape is evidenced by comparing the data from pentagon packing and from a packing with identical characteristics except for the circular shape of the particles. A counterintuitive finding of this work is that, under steady shearing, the pentagon packing develops a lower structural anisotropy than the disk packing. We show that this weakness is compensated by a higher force anisotropy, leading to enhanced shear strength of the pentagon packing. We revisit "strong" and "weak" force networks in the pentagon packing, but our simulation data provide also evidence for a large class of "very weak" forces carried mainly by vertex-to-edge contacts. The strong force chains are mostly composed of edge-to-edge contacts with a marked zig-zag aspect and a decreasing exponential probability distribution as in a disk packing