Clustering transitions in vibrofluidized magnetized granular materials.

Depletion forces drive polymer-like self-assembly in vibrofluidized granular materials.

Ranging from nano- to granular-scales, control of particle assembly can be achieved by limiting the available free space, for example by increasing the concentration of particles ("crowding") or through their restriction to 2D environments. It is unclear, however, if self-assembly principles governing thermally-equilibrated molecules can also apply to mechanically-excited macroscopic particles ...

Dynamic behaviors of supersonic granular media under vertical vibration.

We present experimental study of vibrofluidized granular materials by high speed photography. Statistical results present the averaged dynamic behaviors of granular materials in one cycle, including the variations of height, velocity and mechanical energy of the center of mass. Furthermore, time-space distribution of granular temperature which corresponds to the random kinetic energy shows that...

Convection in three-dimensional vibrofluidized granular beds

Compartmentalized granular gases: flux model results

A review is given of our previous work on the clustering phenomenon for vibrofluidized granular matter in an array of connected compartments, being a prime example of spontaneous pattern formation in a many-body system far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Experiments show that when the shaking strength is reduced below a certain critical level, the grains cluster together: first into a subset of...

Unified rheology of vibro-fluidized dry granular media: From slow dense flows to fast gas-like regimes

Granular media take on great importance in industry and geophysics, posing a severe challenge to materials science. Their response properties elude known soft rheological models, even when the yield-stress discontinuity is blurred by vibro-fluidization. Here we propose a broad rheological scenario where average stress sums up a frictional contribution, generalizing conventional μ(I)-rheology, a...