150 research outputs found
Non-Gaussian velocity distributions in excited granular matter in the absence of clustering
The velocity distribution of spheres rolling on a slightly tilted rectangular
two dimensional surface is obtained by high speed imaging. The particles are
excited by periodic forcing of one of the side walls. Our data suggests that
strongly non-Gaussian velocity distributions can occur in dilute granular
materials even in the absence of significant density correlations or
clustering. When the surface on which the particles roll is tilted further to
introduce stronger gravitation, the collision frequency with the driving wall
increases and the velocity component distributions approach Gaussian
distributions of different widths.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Additional information at
http://physics.clarku.edu/~akudrolli/nls.htm
Velocity correlations in dense granular gases
We report the statistical properties of spherical steel particles rolling on
an inclined surface being driven by an oscillating wall. Strong dissipation
occurs due to collisions between the particles and rolling and can be tuned by
changing the number density. The velocities of the particles are observed to be
correlated over large distances comparable to the system size. The distribution
of velocities deviates strongly from a Gaussian. The degree of the deviation,
as measured by the kurtosis of the distribution, is observed to be as much as
four times the value corresponding to a Gaussian, signaling a significant
breakdown of the assumption of negligible velocity correlations in a granular
system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Figure
Velocity Distributions of Granular Gases with Drag and with Long-Range Interactions
We study velocity statistics of electrostatically driven granular gases. For
two different experiments: (i) non-magnetic particles in a viscous fluid and
(ii) magnetic particles in air, the velocity distribution is non-Maxwellian,
and its high-energy tail is exponential, P(v) ~ exp(-|v|). This behavior is
consistent with kinetic theory of driven dissipative particles. For particles
immersed in a fluid, viscous damping is responsible for the exponential tail,
while for magnetic particles, long-range interactions cause the exponential
tail. We conclude that velocity statistics of dissipative gases are sensitive
to the fluid environment and to the form of the particle interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Two-dimensional Granular Gas of Inelastic Spheres with Multiplicative Driving
We study a two-dimensional granular gas of inelastic spheres subject to
multiplicative driving proportional to a power of the
local particle velocity . The steady state properties of the model
are examined for different values of , and compared with the
homogeneous case . A driving linearly proportional to
seems to reproduce some experimental observations which could not be reproduced
by a homogeneous driving. Furthermore, we obtain that the system can be
homogenized even for strong dissipation, if a driving inversely proportional toComment: 4 pages, 5 figures (accepted as Phys. Rev. Lett.
Model of coarsening and vortex formation in vibrated granular rods
Neicu and Kudrolli observed experimentally spontaneous formation of the
long-range orientational order and large-scale vortices in a system of vibrated
macroscopic rods. We propose a phenomenological theory of this phenomenon,
based on a coupled system of equations for local rods density and tilt. The
density evolution is described by modified Cahn-Hilliard equation, while the
tilt is described by the Ginzburg-Landau type equation. Our analysis shows
that, in accordance to the Cahn-Hilliard dynamics, the islands of the ordered
phase appear spontaneously and grow due to coarsening. The generic vortex
solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation for the tilt correspond to the
vortical motion of the rods around the cores which are located near the centers
of the islands.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Shocks in supersonic sand
We measure time-averaged velocity, density, and temperature fields for steady
granular flow past a wedge and calculate a speed of granular pressure
disturbances (sound speed) equal to 10% of the flow speed. The flow is
supersonic, forming shocks nearly identical to those in a supersonic gas.
Molecular dynamics simulations of Newton's laws and Monte Carlo simulations of
the Boltzmann equation yield fields in quantitative agreement with experiment.
A numerical solution of Navier-Stokes-like equations agrees with a molecular
dynamics simulation for experimental conditions excluding wall friction.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Coarsening of granular clusters: two types of scaling behaviors
We report on an experimental study of small cluster dynamics during the
coarsening process in driven granular submonolayers of 120mkm bronze particles.
The techniques of electrostatic and vertical mechanical vibration were employed
to excite the granular gas. We measure the scaling exponent for the evaporation
of small clusters during coarsening. It was found that the surface area of
small clusters S vs time t behaves as S ~ (t_0-t)^(2/3) for lower frequencies
and S ~ (t_0-t) for higher frequencies. We argue that the change in the scaling
exponent is related to the transition from three dimensional to two dimensional
character of motion in the granular gas.Comment: 4 pages,5 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
The dynamics of thin vibrated granular layers
We describe a series of experiments and computer simulations on vibrated
granular media in a geometry chosen to eliminate gravitationally induced
settling. The system consists of a collection of identical spherical particles
on a horizontal plate vibrating vertically, with or without a confining lid.
Previously reported results are reviewed, including the observation of
homogeneous, disordered liquid-like states, an instability to a `collapse' of
motionless spheres on a perfect hexagonal lattice, and a fluctuating,
hexagonally ordered state. In the presence of a confining lid we see a variety
of solid phases at high densities and relatively high vibration amplitudes,
several of which are reported for the first time in this article. The phase
behavior of the system is closely related to that observed in confined
hard-sphere colloidal suspensions in equilibrium, but with modifications due to
the effects of the forcing and dissipation. We also review measurements of
velocity distributions, which range from Maxwellian to strongly non-Maxwellian
depending on the experimental parameter values. We describe measurements of
spatial velocity correlations that show a clear dependence on the mechanism of
energy injection. We also report new measurements of the velocity
autocorrelation function in the granular layer and show that increased
inelasticity leads to enhanced particle self-diffusion.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Granular Collapse as a Percolation Transition
Inelastic collapse is found in a two-dimensional system of inelastic hard
disks confined between two walls which act as an energy source. As the
coefficient of restitution is lowered, there is a transition between a state
containing small collapsed clusters and a state dominated by a large collapsed
cluster. The transition is analogous to that of a percolation transition. At
the transition the number of clusters n_s of size s scales as with .Comment: 10 pages revtex, 5 figures, accepted by Phys Rev E many changes and
corrections from previous submissio
Propagating front in an excited granular layer
A partial monolayer of ~ 20000 uniform spherical steel beads, vibrated
vertically on a flat plate, shows remarkable ordering transitions and
cooperative behavior just below 1g maximum acceleration. We study the stability
of a quiescent disordered or ``amorphous'' state formed when the acceleration
is switched off in the excited ``gaseous'' state. The transition from the
amorphous state back to the gaseous state upon increasing the plate's
acceleration is generally subcritical: An external perturbation applied to one
bead initiates a propagating front that produces a rapid transition. We measure
the front velocity as a function of the applied acceleration. This phenomenon
is explained by a model based on a single vibrated particle with multiple
attractors that is perturbed by collisions. A simulation shows that a
sufficiently high rate of interparticle collisions can prevent trapping in the
attractor corresponding to the nonmoving ground state.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev. E, May
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