Constrained optimisation in granular network flows: Games with a loaded dice

Flows in real world networks are rarely the outcome of unconditional random allocations as, say, the roll of a dice. Think, for example, of force transmission through a contact network in a quasistatically deforming granular material. Forces ‘flow’ through this network in a highly conditional manner. How much force is transmitted between two contacting particles is always conditional not only on all the other forces acting between the particles in question but also on those acting on the other particles in the system. Broadly, we are interested in the nature and extent to which flows through a contact network favour certain pathways over others, and how the mechanisms that govern such biased flows for a given imposed loading history determine the future evolution of the contact network. Our first step is to solve a selection of fundamental combinatorial optimisation problems on the contact network from the perspective of force transmission. Here we report on solutions to the Maximum Flow Minimum Cost Problem for a weighted contact network where the weights assigned to the links of the contact network are varied according to their contact types. We found that those pathways through which the maximum flow of force is transmitted, in the direction of the maximum principal stress, at minimum cost – pass through the great majority of the force chains. Although the majority of the contacts in these pathways are elastic, the plastic contacts bear an undue influence on the minimum cost

Towards an optimization theory for deforming dense granular materials: Minimum cost maximum flow solutions

We use concepts and techniques of network optimization theory to gain a better understanding of force transmission in dense granular materials. Specifically, we represent a deforming granular material over the different stages of a quasi-static biaxial compression test as a series of representative flow networks, and analyze force transmission through these networks. The forces in such a material are transmitted through the contacts between the constituent grains. As the sample deforms during the various stages of the biaxial test, these grains rearrange: while many contacts are preserved in this rearrangement process, some new contacts form and some old contacts break. We consider the maximum flow problem and the minimum cost maximum flow (MCMF) problem for the flow networks constructed from this evolving network of grain contacts. We identify the flow network bottleneck and establish the sufficient and necessary conditions for a minimum cut of the maximum flow problem to be unique. We also develop an algorithm to determine the MCMF pathway, i.e. a set of edges that always transmit non-zero flow in every solution of the MCMF problem. The bottlenecks of the flow networks develop in the locality of the persistent shear band, an intensively-studied phenomenon that has long been regarded as the signature failure microstructure for dense granular materials. The cooperative evolution of the most important structural building blocks for force transmission, i.e. the force chains and 3-cycles, is examined with respect to the MCMF pathways. We find that the majority of the particles in the major load-bearing columnar force chains and 3-cycles consistently participate in the MCMF pathways

ARTALIVE: AN ANDROID APPLICATION FOR AUGMENTED REALITY WITHOUT MARKERS, BASED ON ANAMORPHIC IMAGES

Abstract. The project that we present develops a mobile application (ArtAlive®) for the generation of augmented reality experiences on museum sculptural objects. The novelty of our application is that we eliminate the markers that other applications need to run. We do this turning the sculptures into their own markers, based on the recognition of anamorphic images of these sculptures: two-dimensional images of three-dimensional objects. So we eliminate the intermediate elements of the process making the experience easier. The aim is to transform the experience of visiting a museum into a more interactive and intuitive experience. The possibility of accessing the information contained in the augmented reality experiences linked specifically to each work, from the comfort of the smartphone, gives the process greater accessibility and flexibility. The recognition of the objects is developed with Vuforia, an augmented reality software development kit (SDK) for mobile devices. ArtAlive® has been registered in the Spanish Intellectual Property Registry, and a possible business model has been defined in a very basic way.</p

Spatiotemporal slope stability analytics for failure estimation (SSSAFE): linking radar data to the fundamental dynamics of granular failure

Impending catastrophic failure of granular earth slopes manifests distinct kinematic patterns in space and time. While risk assessments of slope failure hazards have routinely relied on the monitoring of ground motion, such precursory failure patterns remain poorly understood. A key challenge is the multiplicity of spatiotemporal scales and dynamical regimes. In particular, there exist a precursory failure regime where two mesoscale mechanisms coevolve, namely, the preferred transmission paths for force and damage. Despite extensive studies, a formulation which can address their coevolution not just in laboratory tests but also in large, uncontrolled field environments has proved elusive. Here we address this problem by developing a slope stability analytics framework which uses network flow theory and mesoscience to model this coevolution and predict emergent kinematic clusters solely from surface ground motion data. We test this framework on four data sets: one at the laboratory scale using individual grain displacement data; three at the field scale using line-of-sight displacement of a slope surface, from ground-based radar in two mines and from space-borne radar for the 2017 Xinmo landslide. The dynamics of the kinematic clusters deliver an early prediction of the geometry, location and time of failure

Force attractor in confined comminution of granular materials.

We reveal a novel attractor in the space of contact forces that bounds the behavior of granular materials during confined comminution. The attractor is reached asymptotically as the porosity reduces and the grain size distribution attains an ultimate power law scaling. The ultimate distribution of the contact forces follows a clear log-normal distribution, distinctively different from previous observations in uncrushable systems. Supporting evidence comes both from comprehensive discrete element simulations and a theoretical Apollonian model

The effects of grain shape and frustration in a granular column near jamming

We investigate the full phase diagram of a column of grains near jamming, as a function of varying levels of frustration. Frustration is modelled by the effect of two opposing fields on a grain, due respectively to grains above and below it. The resulting four dynamical regimes (ballistic, logarithmic, activated and glassy) are characterised by means of the jamming time of zero-temperature dynamics, and of the statistics of attractors reached by the latter. Shape effects are most pronounced in the cases of strong and weak frustration, and essentially disappear around a mean-field point.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figure

Characterizing chaotic dynamics from simulations of large strain behavior of a granular material under biaxial compression

Author name used in this publication: Tse, Chi K.2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

A meta-analysis of deep brain structural shape and asymmetry abnormalities in 2,833 individuals with schizophrenia compared with 3,929 healthy volunteers via the ENIGMA Consortium

Schizophrenia is associated with widespread alterations in subcortical brain structure.While analytic methods have enabled more detailed morphometric characterization,findings are often equivocal. In this meta-analysis, we employed the harmonizedENIGMA shape analysis protocols to collaboratively investigate subcortical brainstructure shape differences between individuals with schizophrenia and healthy con-trol participants. The study analyzed data from 2,833 individuals with schizophreniaand 3,929 healthy control participants contributed by 21 worldwide research groupsparticipating in the ENIGMA Schizophrenia Working Group. Harmonized shape analy-sis protocols were applied to each site's data independently for bilateral hippocam-pus, amygdala, caudate, accumbens, putamen, pallidum, and thalamus obtained fromT1-weighted structural MRI scans. Mass univariate meta-analyses revealed more-concave-than-convex shape differences in the hippocampus, amygdala, accumbens,and thalamus in individuals with schizophrenia compared with control participants,more-convex-than-concave shape differences in the putamen and pallidum, and bothconcave and convex shape differences in the caudate. Patterns of exaggerated asym-metry were observed across the hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus in individualswith schizophrenia compared to control participants, while diminished asymmetryencompassed ventral striatum and ventral and dorsal thalamus. Our analyses also rev-ealed that higher chlorpromazine dose equivalents and increased positive symptomlevels were associated with patterns of contiguous convex shape differences acrossmultiple subcortical structures. Findings from our shape meta-analysis suggest thatcommon neurobiological mechanisms may contribute to gray matter reduction acrossmultiple subcortical regions, thus enhancing our understanding of the nature of net-work disorganization in schizophrenia

Complex networks in confined comminution

2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe