Anisotropy of weakly vibrated granular flows.

We experimentally probe the anisotropy of weakly vibrated flowing granular media. Depending on the driving parameters-flow rate and vibration strength-this anisotropy varies significantly. We show how the anisotropy collapses when plotted as a function of the driving stresses, uncovering a direct link between stresses and anisotropy. Moreover, our data suggest that for small anisotropies, the shear stresses vanish. Anisotropy of the fabric of granular media thus plays a crucial role in determining the rheology of granular flows.

Rheology of weakly vibrated granular media.

We probe the rheology of weakly vibrated granular flows as function of flow rate, vibration strength, and pressure by performing experiments in a vertically vibrated split-bottom shear cell. For slow flows, we establish the existence of a vibration-dominated granular flow regime, where the driving stresses smoothly vanish as the driving rate is diminished. We distinguish three qualitatively different vibration-dominated rheologies, most strikingly a regime where the shear stresses no longer are proportional to the pressure.

Jamming, yielding, and rheology of weakly vibrated granular media.

We establish that the rheological curve of dry granular media is nonmonotonic, both in the presence and absence of external mechanical agitations. In the presence of weak vibrations, the nonmonotonic flow curves govern a hysteretic transition between slow but steady and fast, inertial flows. In the absence of vibrations, the nonmonotonic flow curve governs the yielding behavior of granular media. Finally, we show that nonmonotonic flow curves can be seen in at least two different flow geometries and for several granular materials.