Turbulentlike fluctuations in quasistatic flow of granular media.
We analyze particle velocity fluctuations in a simulated granular system subjected to homogeneous quasistatic shearing. We show that these fluctuations share the following scaling characteristics of fluid turbulence in spite of their different physical origins: (i) scale-dependent probability distribution with non-Gaussian broadening at small time scales; (ii) spatial power spectrum of the velocity field showing a power-law decay, reflecting long-range correlations and the self-affine nature of the fluctuations; and (iii) superdiffusion of particles with respect to the mean background flow.
LMGC, CNRS-Université Montpellier II, Place Eugne Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex, France.
Farhang
F
Radjai
Stéphane
S
Roux