1 research outputs found
Two-phase densification of cohesive granular aggregates
When poured into a container, cohesive granular materials form low-density,
open granular aggregates. If pressed upon with a ram, these aggregates densify
by particle rearrangement. Here we introduce experimental evidence to the
effect that particle rearrangement is a spatially heterogeneous phenomenon,
which occurs in the form of a phase transformation between two configurational
phases of the granular aggregate. We then show that the energy landscape
associated with particle rearrangement is consistent with our interpretation of
the experimental results. Besides affording insight into the physics of the
granular state, our conclusions are relevant to many engineering processes and
natural phenomena.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure