Dynamical clustering in driven granular gas

in Europhysics Letters [=EPL] (2012), 99

Driven granular gases present rich dynamical behaviors. Due to inelastic collisions, particles may form dense and slow regions. These clusters emerge naturally during a cooling phenomenon but another ... [more ▼]

Driven granular gases present rich dynamical behaviors. Due to inelastic collisions, particles may form dense and slow regions. These clusters emerge naturally during a cooling phenomenon but another dynamical clustering is observed when the system is continuously excited. In this paper, the physical processes that trigger the transition from a granular gas to a dynamical cluster are evidenced through numerical simulations. At the granular scale, the transition is evidenced by the observation of caging effects. At the scale of the system, the transition is emphasized by density fluctuations. Physical arguments, based on relaxation times, provide an analytical prediction for the edge between dynamical regimes. [less ▲]

Phase transitions in vibrated granular systems in microgravity

in Physical Review. E : Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (2011)