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arXiv · 1112.3146

Bridges in three-dimensional granular packings: experiments and simulations

Yixin Cao·Bandan Chakrabortty·G. C. Barker·Anita Mehta·Yujie Wang
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Abstract

In this letter, we present the first experimental study of bridge structures in three-dimensional dry granular packings. When bridges are small, they are predominantly 'linear', and have an exponential size distribution. Larger, predominantly 'complex' bridges, are confirmed to follow a power-law size distribution. Our experiments, which use X-ray tomography, are in good agreement with the simulations presented here, for the distribution of sizes, end-to-end lengths, base extensions and orientations of predominantly linear bridges. Quantitative differences between the present experiment and earlier simulations suggest that packing fraction is an important determinant of bridge structure.

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Yixin Cao, Bandan Chakrabortty, G. C. Barker, Anita Mehta, Yujie Wang. 2013-05-10. Bridges in three-dimensional granular packings: experiments and simulations. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075%2F102%2F24004

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