Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: A model for weakly excited granular media is derived by combining the free volume argument of Nowak et al. [Phys. Rev. E 57, 1971 (1998)] and the phenomenological model for supercooled liquids of Adam and Gibbs [J. Chem. Phys. 43, 139 (1965)]. This is made possible by relating the granular excitation parameter Gamma, defined as the peak acceleration of the driving pulse scaled by gravity, to a temperaturelike parameter eta(Gamma). The resulting master equation is formally identical to that of Bouchaud's trap model for glasses [J. Phys. I 2, 1705 (1992)]. Analytic and simulation results are shown to compare favorably with a range of known experimental behavior. This includes the logarithmic densification and power spectrum of fluctuations under constant eta, the annealing curve when eta is varied cyclically in time, and memory effects observed for a discontinuous shift in eta. Finally, we discuss the physical interpretation of the model parameters and suggest further experiments for this class of systems.
Author: D. A. Head
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2079557287