Does Gravity Cause Load-Bearing Bridges in Colloidal and Granular Systems?

M. C. Jenkins, M. D. Haw, G. C. Barker, Wilson Poon, S. U. Egelhaaf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

We study structures which can bear loads, "bridges", in particulate packings. To investigate the relationship between bridges and gravity, we experimentally determine bridge statistics in colloidal packings. We vary the effective magnitude and direction of gravity, volume fraction, and interactions, and find that the bridge size distributions depend only on the mean number of neighbors. We identify a universal distribution, in agreement with simulation results for granulars, suggesting that applied loads merely exploit preexisting bridges, which are inherent in dense packings.

Original languageEnglish
Article number038302
Pages (from-to)-
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume107
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2011

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • HARD-SPHERE
  • COMPUTER-SIMULATION
  • CRYSTAL NUCLEATION
  • CRYSTALLIZATION
  • SUSPENSIONS
  • MICROSCOPY
  • PARTICLES
  • PACKING
  • MATTER

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Does Gravity Cause Load-Bearing Bridges in Colloidal and Granular Systems?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this