2019/04/13 by Clara C. Wanjura, Wanjura, Clara C., Paula A. Gago +5
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #FOS: Physical sciences #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Granular flow and fluidized beds #Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1904.06549
openalex publication_date 2019/04/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A general theory is developed for the evolution of the cell order (CO) distribution in planar granular systems. Dynamic equations are constructed and solved in closed form for several examples: systems under compression; dilation of very dense systems; and the general approach to steady state. We find that all the steady states are stable and that they satisfy detailed balance-like condition when the CO ≤ 6. Illustrative numerical solutions of the evolution are shown. Our theoretical results are validated against an extensive simulation of a sheared system. The formalism can be readily extended to other structural characteristics, paving the way to a general theory of structural organisation of granular systems.