We study the transition of a granular packing from liquid to solid bonding in the course of drying. The particles are initially wetted by a liquid brine and the cohesion of the packing is ensured by capillary forces, but the crystallization of the solute transforms the liquid bonds into partially cemented bonds. This transition is evidenced experimentally by measuring the compressive strength of the samples at regular intervals of times. Our experimental data reveal three regimes: 1) Up to a critical degree of saturation, no solid bonds are formed and the cohesion remains practically constant; 2) The onset of cementation occurs at the surface and a front spreads towards the center of the sample with a nonlinear increase of the cohesion; 3) All bonds are partially cemented when the cementation front reaches the center of the sample, but the cohesion increases rapidly due to the consolidation of cemented bonds. We introduce a model based on a parametric cohesion law at the bonds and a bond crystallization parameter. This model predicts correctly the phase transition and the relation between microscopic and macroscopic cohesion.
Cohesive granular materials such as wet sand, snow, and powders can flow like a viscous liquid. However, the elementary mechanisms of momentum transport in such athermal particulate fluids are elusive. As a result, existing models for cohesive granular viscosity remain phenomenological and debated. Here we use discrete element simulations of plane shear flows to measure the viscosity of cohesive granular materials, while tuning the intensity of inter-particle adhesion. We establish that two adhesion-related, dimensionless numbers control their viscosity. These numbers compare the force and ene…
The failure of 2D numerical cohesive granular steps collapsing under gravity are simulated for a large range of cohesion. Focussing on the cumulative displacement of the grains, and defining a displacement threshold, we establish a sensible criterion for capturing the failure characteristics. We are able to locate the failure in time and to identify the different stages of the destabilisation. We find that the onset of the failure is delayed by increasing cohesion, but its duration becomes shorter. Defining a narrow displacement interval, a well-defined shear band revealing the failure comes o…
The rheology of cohesive granular materials, under a constant pressure condition, is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Depending on the shear rate, pressure, and interparticle cohesiveness, the system exhibits four distinctive phases: uniform shear, oscillation, shear-banding, and clustering. The friction coefficient is found to increase with the inertial number, irrespective of the cohesiveness. The friction coefficient becomes larger for strong cohesion. This trend is explained by the anisotropies of the coordination number and angular distribution of the interparticle forces. In…
The mechanical properties of a disordered heterogeneous medium depend, in general, on a complex interplay between multiple length scales. Connecting local interactions to macroscopic observables, such as stiffness or fracture, is thus challenging in this type of material. Here, we study the properties of a cohesive granular material composed of glass beads held together by soft polymer bridges. We characterise the mechanical response of single bridges under traction and shear, using a setup based on the deflection of flexible micropipettes. These measurements, along with information from X-ray…
Rheology of a dilute cohesive granular gas is theoretically and numerically studied. The flow curve between the shear viscosity and the shear rate is derived from the inelastic Boltzmann equation for particles having square-well potentials in a simple shear flow. It is found that (i) the stable uniformly sheared state only exists above a critical shear rate and (ii) the viscosity in the uniformly sheared flow is almost identical to that for uniformly sheared flow of hard core granular particles. Below the critical shear rate, clusters grow with time, in which the viscosity can be approximated …
The formation of kink wave fronts (KWFs) in a quasi-two-dimensional granular system is investigated numerically with a focus on the role of cohesive interactions between individual particles. The cohesive particle-particle interaction is achieved through tuning the velocity-dependent coefficient of restitution, based on an analytical model introduced recently. A comparison with experimental results indicates that the threshold for the emergence of traveling KWFs matches the regime in which the center of mass height of the granular layers fluctuates with a period that triples the vibration peri…
Cohesion-induced hysteresis and breakdown of marginal stability in jammed granular materials
Institute of Science and Engineering, Shimane University（岛根大学理工学研究科）；Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science（东京理科大学应用物理系）；Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo（东京大学大学院人文社会系研究科）
Multi-phase flows encountered in nature or in industry, exhibit non trivial rheological properties, that can be understood better thanks to model materials and appropriate rheometers. Here, we use model unsaturated granular materials: assemblies of frictional spherical particles bonded by a small quantity of a wetting liquid, over a rough inclined plane. Our results show steady uniform flows for a wide range of parameters (the inclination angle and the mass flow-rate). A theoretical model, based on the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion extended to inertial flows: $τ$ = $τ$c + $μ$(I)P, in which $τ$c…
An experimental apparatus measuring free-surface deformation of a centrifuged granular pile is developed. By horizontally rotating a quasi two-dimensional granular pile whose apex is located at the vertical rotation axis, the resultant force of gravity and centrifuge yields the deformation of the granular pile. In this setup, centrifugal force depends on distance from the rotation axis whilst gravitational force is constant everywhere. Therefore, free-surface deformation by various centrifuge degrees can be systematically examined using this apparatus. In the system, a small unit consisting of…
Clustering is often presumed to lead to enhanced agglomeration between cohesive grains due to the reduced relative velocities of particles within a cluster. Our discrete-particle simulations on gravity-driven, gas-solid flows of cohesive grains exhibit the opposite trend, revealing a new mechanism we coin "cluster-induced deagglomeration." Specifically, we examine relatively dilute gas-solid flows and isolate agglomerates of cohesive origin from overall heterogeneities in the system, i.e., agglomerates of cohesive origin and clusters of hydrodynamic origin. We observe enhanced clustering with …
Wave phenomena in vibrofluidized dry and partially wet granular materials confined in a quasi-two-dimensional geometry are investigated with numerical simulations considering individual particles as hard spheres. Short ranged cohesive interactions arising from the formation of liquid bridges between adjacent particles are modeled by changing the velocity dependent coefficient of restitution. Such a change effectively suppresses the formation of surface waves, in agreement with previous experimental observations. The difference in pattern creation arises from the suppressed momentum transfer du…
The mechanics of cohesive or cemented granular materials is complex, combining the heterogeneous responses of granular media, like force chains, with clearly defined material properties. Here, we use a discrete element model (DEM) simulation, consisting of an assemblage of elastic particles connected by softer but breakable elastic bonds, to explore how this class of material deforms and fails under uniaxial compression. We are particularly interested in the connection between the microscopic interactions among the grains or particles and the macroscopic material response. To this end, the pro…
