Interparticle contact networks of granular packings below jamming

ORAL

Abstract

We employ computer simulations to investigate the structural properties of interparticle contact networks in granular packings of bidisperse disks below jamming onset at which the system becomes solid-like. We show that the properties of the contact networks are highly sensitive to changes in the packing-generation protocol and its numerical implementation. Thus, we formulate an analytical method to implement steepest descent of hard, athermal particles undergoing isotropic compression, which allows us to calculate the number of contacts as a function of packing fraction. These results represent an important first step in developing a theoretical description of shear- and compression-induced jamming in frictional granular media.

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Authors

  • Bhaskar Sen Gupta

    Yale University

  • Thibault Bertrand

    Yale University

  • Corey O'Hern

    Yale University, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Department of Applied Physics, and Department of Physics, Yale University, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University

  • Mark Shattuck

    City College of New York, Department of Physics and Benjamin Levich Institute, The City College of the City University of New York, New York