537 research outputs found
Granular packings with moving side walls
The effects of movement of the side walls of a confined granular packing are
studied by discrete element, molecular dynamics simulations. The dynamical
evolution of the stress is studied as a function of wall movement both in the
direction of gravity as well as opposite to it. For all wall velocities
explored, the stress in the final state of the system after wall movement is
fundamentally different from the original state obtained by pouring particles
into the container and letting them settle under the influence of gravity. The
original packing possesses a hydrostatic-like region at the top of the
container which crosses over to a depth-independent stress. As the walls are
moved in the direction opposite to gravity, the saturation stress first reaches
a minimum value independent of the wall velocity, then increases to a
steady-state value dependent on the wall-velocity. After wall movement ceases
and the packing reaches equilibrium, the stress profile fits the classic
Janssen form for high wall velocities, while it has some deviations for low
wall velocities. The wall movement greatly increases the number of
particle-wall and particle-particle forces at the Coulomb criterion. Varying
the wall velocity has only small effects on the particle structure of the final
packing so long as the walls travel a similar distance.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, some figures in colo
High-Energy Aspects of Solar Flares: Overview of the Volume
In this introductory chapter, we provide a brief summary of the successes and
remaining challenges in understanding the solar flare phenomenon and its
attendant implications for particle acceleration mechanisms in astrophysical
plasmas. We also provide a brief overview of the contents of the other chapters
in this volume, with particular reference to the well-observed flare of 2002
July 23Comment: This is the introductory article for a monograph on the physics of
solar flares, inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to
appear in Space Science Reviews (2011
NMR Experiments on a Three-Dimensional Vibrofluidized Granular Medium
A three-dimensional granular system fluidized by vertical container
vibrations was studied using pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR coupled with
one-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The system consisted of
mustard seeds vibrated vertically at 50 Hz, and the number of layers N_ell <= 4
was sufficiently low to achieve a nearly time-independent granular fluid. Using
NMR, the vertical profiles of density and granular temperature were directly
measured, along with the distributions of vertical and horizontal grain
velocities. The velocity distributions showed modest deviations from
Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics, except for the vertical velocity distribution
near the sample bottom which was highly skewed and non-Gaussian. Data taken for
three values of N_ell and two dimensionless accelerations Gamma=15,18 were fit
to a hydrodynamic theory, which successfully models the density and temperature
profiles including a temperature inversion near the free upper surface.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure
A nonlinear hydrodynamical approach to granular materials
We propose a nonlinear hydrodynamical model of granular materials. We show
how this model describes the formation of a sand pile from a homogeneous
distribution of material under gravity, and then discuss a simulation of a
rotating sandpile which shows, in qualitative agreement with experiment, a
static and dynamic angle of repose.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, RevTeX4; minor changes to wording and some
additional discussion. Accepted by Phys. Rev.
Evolution of electronic and ionic structure of Mg-clusters with the growth cluster size
The optimized structure and electronic properties of neutral and singly
charged magnesium clusters have been investigated using ab initio theoretical
methods based on density-functional theory and systematic post-Hartree-Fock
many-body perturbation theory accounting for all electrons in the system. We
have systematically calculated the optimized geometries of neutral and singly
charged magnesium clusters consisting of up to 21 atoms, electronic shell
closures, binding energies per atom, ionization potentials and the gap between
the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals. We have
investigated the transition to the hcp structure and metallic evolution of the
magnesium clusters, as well as the stability of linear chains and rings of
magnesium atoms. The results obtained are compared with the available
experimental data and the results of other theoretical works.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, 3 table
Advances in MASELTOV – Serious Games in a Mobile Ecology of Services for Social Inclusion and Empowerment of Recent Immigrants
Immigration imposes a range of challenges with the risk of social exclusion from the information society (Halfman 1998), such as, getting into communication with the local society and understanding the culture of their host nation. Failure to address these challenges can lead to difficulties in the frame of integrating into the society of the host country, leading to fragmented communities and a range of social issues. As part of a comprehensive suite of services for immigrants, the European project seeks to provide both practical tools and learning services via mobile devices, providing a readily usable resource for immigrants. We introduce recent results, such as the game-based learning aspect of the MASELTOV project is introduced, with the rationale behind its design presented. In doing so, the benefits and implications of mobile platforms and emergent data capture techniques for game-based learning are discussed, as are methods for putting engaging gameplay at the forefront of the experience whilst relying on rich data capture and analysis to provide an effective learning solution
- …