Daniels Nonlinear Lab

Granular Materials

From avalanches and erosion to the transport of grain or pharmaceuticals, granular materials are all around us. When working with them, it rapidly becomes clear that these "simple" systems produce complex behavior: networks of force chains (see image below) support the material, flowing motion is localized in shear bands, and particles segregate by size or shape when you try to mix them.

The dynamics of granular materials depend strongly on whether they are loosely or closely packed. In this movie we show the diffusion and braiding of trajectories in a 2D granular system.

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