arXiv subjects

Brian P. Tighe

Publications and source records attributed to Brian P. Tighe.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Shear dilatancy in marginal solids

Shearing stresses can change the volume of a material via a nonlinear effect known as shear dilatancy. We calculate the elastic dilatancy coefficient of soft sphere packings and random spring networks, two canonical models of marginal solids close to their rigidity transition. We predict a dramatic enhancement of dilatancy near rigidity loss in both materials, with a surprising distinction: while packings expand under shear, networks contract. We show that contraction in networks is due to the destabilizing influence of increasing hydrostatic or uniaxial loads, which is counteracted in packings by the formation of new contacts.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2012

Critical viscoelastic response in jammed solids

We determine the linear viscoelastic response of jammed packings of athermal repulsive viscous spheres, a model for emulsions, wet foams, and soft colloidal suspensions. We numerically measure the complex shear modulus, a fundamental characterization of the response, and demonstrate that low frequency response displays dynamic critical scaling near unjamming. Viscoelastic shear response is governed by the relaxational eigenmodes of a packing. We use scaling arguments to explain the distribution of eigenrates, which develops a divergence at unjamming. We then derive the critical exponents characterizing response, including a vanishing shear modulus, diverging viscosity, and critical shear thinning regime. Finally, we demonstrate that macroscopic rheology is sensitive to details of the local viscous force law. By varying the ratio of normal and tangential damping coefficients, we identify and explain a qualitative difference between systems with strong and weak damping of sliding motion. When sliding is weakly damped there is no diverging time scale, no diverging viscosity, and no critical shear thinning regime.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2012

Floppiness, cutting, and freezing: Dynamic critical scaling near isostaticity

The isostatic state plays a central role in organizing the response of many amorphous materials. We demonstrate the existence of a dynamic critical length scale in nearly isostatic spring networks that is valid both above and below isostaticity and at finite frequencies, and use scaling arguments to relate the length scale to viscoelastic response. We predict theoretically and verify numerically how proximity to isostaticity controls the viscosity, shear modulus, and creep of random networks.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2011

Relaxations and rheology near jamming

We determine the form of the complex shear modulus $G^*$ in soft sphere packings near jamming. Viscoelastic response at finite frequency is closely tied to a packing's intrinsic relaxational modes, which are distinct from the vibrational modes of undamped packings. We demonstrate and explain the appearance of an anomalous excess of slowly relaxing modes near jamming, reflected in a diverging relaxational density of states. From the density of states, we derive the dependence of $G^*$ on frequency and distance to the jamming transition, which is confirmed by numerics.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2011

The Jamming Perspective on Wet Foams

Amorphous materials as diverse as foams, emulsions, colloidal suspensions and granular media can {\em jam} into a rigid, disordered state where they withstand finite shear stresses before yielding. The jamming transition has been studied extensively, in particular in computer simulations of frictionless, soft, purely repulsive spheres. Foams and emulsions are the closest realizations of this model, and in foams, the (un)jamming point corresponds to the wet limit, where the bubbles become spherical and just form contacts. Here we sketch the relevance of the jamming perspective for the geometry and flow of foams --- and also discuss the impact that foams studies may have on theoretical studies on jamming. We first briefly review insights into the crucial role of disorder in these systems, culminating in the breakdown of the affine assumption that underlies the rich mechanics near jamming. Second, we discuss how crucial theoretical predictions, such as the square root scaling of contact number with packing fraction, and the nontrivial role of disorder and fluctuations for flow have been observed in experiments on 2D foams. Third, we discuss a scaling model for the rheology of disordered media that appears to capture the key features of the flow of foams, emulsions and soft colloidal suspensions. Finally, we discuss how best to confront predictions of this model with experimental data.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2010

Force rearrangements and statistics of hyperstatic granular force networks

The heterogeneous force networks in static granular media --- formed from contact forces between grains and spanning from boundary to boundary in the packing --- are distinguished from other network structures in that they must satisfy constraints of mechanical equilibrium on every vertex/grain. Here we study the statistics of ensembles of hyperstatic frictionless force networks, which are composed of more forces than can be determined uniquely from force balance. Hyperstatic force networks possess degrees of freedom that rearrange one balanced network into another. We construct these rearrangements, count them, identify their elementary building blocks, and show that in two dimensions they are related via duality to so-called floppy modes, which play an important role in many other aspects of granular physics. We demonstrate that the number of rearrangements governs the macroscopic statistical properties of the ensemble, in particular the macroscopic fluctuations of stress, which scale with distance to the isostatic point. We then show that a maximum entropy postulate allows one to quantitatively capture many features of the microscopic statistics. Boundaries are shown to influence the statistics strongly: the probability distribution of large forces can have a qualitatively different form on the boundary and in the bulk. Finally, we consider the role of spatial correlations and dimension. All predictions are tested against highly accurate numerical simulations of the ensemble, performed using umbrella sampling.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2010

Model for the Scaling of Stresses and Fluctuations in Flows near Jamming

We probe flows of soft, viscous spheres near the jamming point, which acts as a critical point for static soft spheres. Starting from energy considerations, we find nontrivial scaling of velocity fluctuations with strain rate. Combining this scaling with insights from jamming, we arrive at an analytical model that predicts four distinct regimes of flow, each characterized by rational-valued scaling exponents. Both the number of regimes and values of the exponents depart from prior results. We validate predictions of the model with simulations.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2010

The force network ensemble for granular packings

For packings of hard but not perfectly rigid particles, the length scales that govern the packing geometry and the contact forces are well separated. This separation of length scales is explored in the force network ensemble, where one studies the space of allowed force configurations for a given, frozen contact geometry. Here we review results of this approach, which yields nontrivial predictions for the effect of packing dimension and anisotropy on the contact force distribution $P(f)$, the response to overall shear and point forcing, all of which can be studied in great numerical detail. Moreover, there are emerging analytical approaches that very effectively capture, for example, the form of force distributions.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2009

Force balance in canonical ensembles of static granular packings

We investigate the role of local force balance in the transition from a microcanonical ensemble of static granular packings, characterized by an invariant stress, to a canonical ensemble. Packings in two dimensions admit a reciprocal tiling, and a collective effect of force balance is that the area of this tiling is also invariant in a microcanonical ensemble. We present analytical relations between stress, tiling area and tiling area fluctuations, and show that a canonical ensemble can be characterized by an intensive thermodynamic parameter conjugate to one or the other. We test the equivalence of different ensembles through the first canonical simulations of the force network ensemble, a model system.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2008

Wide shear zones and the spot model: Implications from the split-bottom geometry

The spot model has been developed by Bazant and co-workers to describe quasistatic granular flows. It assumes that granular flow is caused by the opposing flow of so-called spots of excess free volume, with spots moving along the slip lines of Mohr-Coulomb plasticity. The model is two-dimensional and has been successfully applied to a number of different geometries. In this paper we investigate whether the spot model in its simplest form can describe the wide shear zones observed in experiments and simulations of a Couette cell with split bottom. We give a general argument that is independent of the particular description of the stresses, but which shows that the present formulation of the spot model in which diffusion and drift terms are postulated to balance on length scales of order of the spot diameter, i.e. of order 3-5 grain diameters, is difficult to reconcile with the observed wide shear zones. We also discuss the implications for the spot model of co-axiality of the stress and strain rate tensors found in these wide shear flows, and point to possible extensions of the model that might allow one to account for the existence of wide shear zones.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2008

Entropy maximization in the force network ensemble for granular solids

A long-standing issue in the area of granular media is the tail of the force distribution, in particular whether this is exponential, Gaussian, or even some other form. Here we resolve the issue for the case of the force network ensemble in two dimensions. We demonstrate that conservation of the total area of a reciprocal tiling, a direct consequence of local force balance, is crucial for predicting the local stress distribution. Maximizing entropy while conserving the tiling area and total pressure leads to a distribution of local pressures with a generically Gaussian tail that is in excellent agreement with numerics, both with and without friction and for two different contact networks.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2006

Pressure and Motion of Dry Sand -- Translation of Hagen's Paper from 1852

In a remarkable paper from 1852, Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen measured and explained two fundamental aspects of granular matter: The first effect is the saturation of pressure with depth in a static granular system confined by silo walls -- generally known as the Janssen effect. The second part of his paper describes the dynamics observed during the flow out of the container -- today often called the Beverloo law -- and forms the foundation of the hourglass theory. The following is a translation of the original German paper from 1852.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2005

Force distributions in a triangular lattice of rigid bars

We study the uniformly weighted ensemble of force balanced configurations on a triangular network of nontensile contact forces. For periodic boundary conditions corresponding to isotropic compressive stress, we find that the probability distribution for single-contact forces decays faster than exponentially. This super-exponential decay persists in lattices diluted to the rigidity percolation threshold. On the other hand, for anisotropic imposed stresses, a broader tail emerges in the force distribution, becoming a pure exponential in the limit of infinite lattice size and infinitely strong anisotropy.

cond-mat.soft↗