Cohesion-controlled granular material.

We present a simple method to prepare a granular material with a controlled cohesion between particles. The granular material is made of spherical glass beads coated with a polyborosiloxane polymer. This material is proved to be stable in time and nonsensitive to temperature and humidity. The interparticle force is measured and related to the size of the grain and the polymer coating thickness. Classical measurements (packing fraction, repose angle, macroscopic cohesion) are performed with this cohesion-controlled granular material. This model material opens many perspectives to study in a controlled manner the flow of cohesive grains.

Insights into the rheology of cohesive granular media.

Characterization and prediction of the "flowability" of powders are of paramount importance in many industries. However, our understanding of the flow of powders like cement or flour is sparse compared to the flow of coarse, granular media like sand. The main difficulty arises because of the presence of adhesive forces between the grains, preventing smooth and continuous flows. Several tests are used in industrial contexts to probe and quantify the "flowability" of powders. However, they remain empirical and would benefit from a detailed study of the physics controlling flow dynamics. Here, we attempt to fill the gap by performing intensive discrete numerical simulations of cohesive grains flowing down an inclined plane. We show that, contrary to what is commonly perceived, the cohesive nature of the flow is not entirely controlled by the interparticle adhesion, but that stiffness and inelasticity of the grains also play a significant role. For the same adhesion, stiffer and less dissipative grains yield a less cohesive flow. This observation is rationalized by introducing the concept of a dynamic, "effective" adhesive force, a single parameter, which combines the effects of adhesion, elasticity, and dissipation. Based on this concept, a rheological description of the flow is proposed for the cohesive grains. Our results elucidate the physics controlling the flow of cohesive granular materials, which may help in designing new approaches to characterize the "flowability" of powders.

Angular particle sliding down a transversally vibrated smooth plane.

We present a theoretical, numerical, and experimental study about the sliding motion of an angular particle down a vibrated smooth plane. The model is based on a Coulomb's friction law with a unique friction coefficient. The model is solved numerically and is tested with controlled experiments. Different motion regimes are identified and the particle behavior is governed by two dimensionless parameters. The comparison between experimental and numerical results gives an indirect access to the dynamic friction coefficient.