We extend the common theme of random Apollonian packing of circles to consider orientable grains with a noncircular shape. Systems of up to 10(6) grains are examined for a range of polygonal and elliptical shapes using both the random Apollonian packing model and the new rotational random Apollonian packing model which takes into account the extra rotational degree of freedom of noncircular gra...

Ductile compaction is common in many natural systems, but the temporal evolution of such systems is rarely studied. We observe surprising oscillations in the weight measured at the bottom of a self-compacting ensemble of ductile grains. The oscillations develop during the first ten hours of the experiment, and usually persist through the length of an experiment (one week). The weight oscillatio...

In this study we have investigated the effect of starting GaAs semi-insulating substrate surface (polished / unpolished), type of mask used (photoresist / Nickel) and RIE parameters (pressure and power) on the surface smoothness/morphology of the etched via-walls and resultant etch profiles with CCl2F2 / CCl4 gas chemistry. The ultimate aim of the study has been to develop a reliable via-hole g...

Energy dissipation on collisions of grain aggregates is investigated taking into account effects by sintering. It is shown that sintering significantly reduces the energy dissipation efficiency because contacts between adjacent grains become strong by sintering.

Cold-induced sweetening (CIS) is the accumulation of reducing sugars in potato tubers at low storage temperatures. It is undesirable because it results in dark fry products. Our study evaluated the relationship between genetic resistance to CIS and two starch parameters, amylose content and starch granule size. We found that the amylose content in four CIS-resistant varieties was higher than th...

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) grains or seeds are known to lose much of their nutrient and antioxidant contents, following polishing. The current study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the carbohydrate content and antioxidant parameters in the unpolished and polished seeds of three edible indica rice cultivars, namely Swarna (SW), the most popular indica rice cultivar in India and aromatic or sc...