Granular And Complex Materials

The science of complex materials continues to engage researchers from a vast range of disciplines, including physics, mathematics, computational science, and virtually all domains of engineering.This volume presents a unique multidisciplinary panorama of the current research in complex materials. The contributions explore an array of problems reflecting recent developments in four main areas: characterization and modeling of disordered packings, micromechanics and continuum theory; discrete element method; statistical mechanics. The common theme is the quest to unravel the connection between the microscopic and macroscopic properties of complex materials.

The science of complex materials continues to engage researchers from a vast range of disciplines, including physics, mathematics, computational science, and virtually all domains of engineering.This volume presents a unique multidisciplinary panorama of the current research in complex materials. The contributions explore an array of problems reflecting recent developments in four main areas: characterization and modeling of disordered packings, micromechanics and continuum theory; discrete element method; statistical mechanics. The common theme is the quest to unravel the connection between the microscopic and macroscopic properties of complex materials.

Explaining the science contained in a simple assembly of grains—the most abundant form of matter present on Earth. Granular media—composed of vast amounts of grains, consolidated or not—constitute the most abundant form of solid matter on Earth. Granular materials assemble in disordered configurations scientists often liken to a bag of marbles. Made of macroscopic particles rather than molecules, they defy the standard scheme of classification in terms of solid, liquid, and gas. Granular materials provide a model relevant to various domains of research, including engineering, physics, and biology. William Blake famously wished “To See a World in a Grain of Sand”; in this book, pioneering researchers in granular matter explain the science hidden behind simple grains, shedding light on collective behavior in disordered settings in general. The authors begin by describing the single grain with its different origins, shapes, and sizes, then examine grains in piled or stacked form. They explain the packing fraction of granular media, a crucial issue that bears on the properties displayed in practical applications; explore small-scale deformations in piles of disordered grains, with particular attention to friction; and present theories of various modes of disorder. Along the way, they discuss such concepts as force chains, arching effects, wet grains, sticky contacts, and inertial effects. Drawing on recent numerical simulations as well as classical concepts developed in physics and mechanics, the book offers an accessible introduction to a rapidly developing field.

Granular materials are an integral part of our everyday life. They are also the base material for most industrial processing techniques. The highly dissipative nature of the particle collisions means energy input is needed in order to mobilize the grains. This interplay of dissipation and excitation leads to a wide variety of pattern formation processes, which are addressed in this book. The reader is introduced to this wide field by, first, a description of the material properties of granular materials under different experimental conditions that are important in connection with the pattern formation dynamics and, second, by further details given later on in the description of the specific system.

Granular systems arise in a variety of geological and industrial settings, from landslides, avalanches, and erosion to agricultural grains and pharmaceutical powders. Understanding the underlying physics that governs their behavior is the key to developing effective handling and transport mechanisms as well as appropriate environmental policies.Han

In view of its extreme complexity the mathematical description of the mechanical behaviour of granular materials is an extremely difficult task. Today many different models compete with each other. However, the complexity of the models hinders their comparison, and the potential users are confused and, often, disencouraged. This book is expected to serve as a milestone in the present situation, to evaluate the present methodes, to clear up the situation, to focus and encourage for further research activities.

Provides the state-of-the-art of the physics of granular media for graduate students and researchers in physics, applied mathematics and engineering.

This monograph contains original results in the field of mathematical and numerical modeling of mechanical behavior of granular materials and materials with different strengths. It proposes new models helping to define zones of the strain localization. The book shows how to analyze processes of the propagation of elastic and elastic-plastic waves in loosened materials, and constructs models of mixed type, describing the flow of granular materials in the presence of quasi-static deformation zones. In a last part, the book studies a numerical realization of the models on multiprocessor computer systems. The book is intended for scientific researchers, lecturers of universities, post-graduates and senior students, who specialize in the field of the deformable materials mechanics, mathematical modeling and adjacent fields of applied and calculus mathematics.

Dry granular materials, such as sand, sugar and powders, can be poured into a container like a liquid and can also form a pile, resisting gravity like a solid, which is why they can be regarded as a fourth state of matter, neither solid nor liquid. This book focuses on defining the physics of dry granular media in a systematic way, providing a collection of articles written by recognised experts. The physics of this field is new and full of challenges, but many questions (such as kinetic theories, plasticity, continuum and discrete modelling) also require the strong participation of mechanical and chemical engineers, soil mechanists, geologists and astrophysicists. The book gathers into a single volume the relevant concepts from all these disciplines, enabling the reader to gain a rapid understanding of the foundations, as well as the open questions, of the physics of granular materials. The contributors have been chosen particularly for their ability to explain new concepts, making the book attractive to students or researchers contemplating a foray into the field. The breadth of the treatment, on the other hand, makes the book a useful reference for scientists who are already experienced in the subject.

2007 account of developments in granular physics for researchers in statistical and mathematical physics.