13,121 research outputs found
Statistical Laws and Mechanics of Voronoi Random Lattices
We investigate random lattices where the connectivities are determined by the
Voronoi construction, while the location of the points are the dynamic degrees
of freedom. The Voronoi random lattices with an associated energy are immersed
in a heat bath and investigated using a Monte Carlo simulation algorithm. In
thermodynamic equilibrium we measure coordination number distributions and test
the Aboav-Weaire and Lewis laws.Comment: 14 pages (figures not included), LaTeX, HLRZ-26/9
Break-up of shells under explosion and impact
A theoretical and experimental study of the fragmentation of closed thin
shells made of a disordered brittle material is presented. Experiments were
performed on brown and white hen egg-shells under two different loading
conditions: fragmentation due to an impact with a hard wall and explosion by a
combustion mixture giving rise to power law fragment size distributions. For
the theoretical investigations a three-dimensional discrete element model of
shells is constructed. Molecular dynamics simulations of the two loading cases
resulted in power law fragment mass distributions in satisfactory agreement
with experiments. Based on large scale simulations we give evidence that power
law distributions arise due to an underlying phase transition which proved to
be abrupt and continuous for explosion and impact, respectively. Our results
demonstrate that the fragmentation of closed shells defines a universality
class different from that of two- and three-dimensional bulk systems.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures in eps forma
Bursts in discontinuous Aeolian saltation
Close to the onset of Aeolian particle transport through saltation we find in
wind tunnel experiments a regime of discontinuous flux characterized by bursts
of activity. Scaling laws are observed in the time delay between each burst and
in the measurements of the wind fluctuations at the fluid threshold Shields
number . The time delay between each burst decreases on average with
the increase of the Shields number until sand flux becomes continuous. A
numerical model for saltation including the wind-entrainment from the turbulent
fluctuations can reproduce these observations and gives insight about their
origin. We present here also for the first time measurements showing that with
feeding it becomes possible to sustain discontinuous flux even below the fluid
threshold
Coupled DEM-LBM method for the free-surface simulation of heterogeneous suspensions
The complexity of the interactions between the constituent granular and
liquid phases of a suspension requires an adequate treatment of the
constituents themselves. A promising way for numerical simulations of such
systems is given by hybrid computational frameworks. This is naturally done,
when the Lagrangian description of particle dynamics of the granular phase
finds a correspondence in the fluid description. In this work we employ
extensions of the Lattice-Boltzmann Method for non-Newtonian rheology, free
surfaces, and moving boundaries. The models allows for a full coupling of the
phases, but in a simplified way. An experimental validation is given by an
example of gravity driven flow of a particle suspension
Modeling river delta formation
A new model to simulate the time evolution of river delta formation process
is presented. It is based on the continuity equation for water and sediment
flow and a phenomenological sedimentation/ erosion law. Different delta types
are reproduced using different parameters and erosion rules. The structures of
the calculated patterns are analyzed in space and time and compared with real
data patterns. Furthermore our model is capable to simulate the rich dynamics
related to the switching of the mouth of the river delta. The simulation
results are then compared with geological records for the Mississippi river
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