title: Cohesive granular materials composed of nonconvex particles.
abstract: The macroscopic cohesion of granular materials made up of sticky particles depends on the particle shapes. We address this issue by performing contact dynamics simulations of 2D packings of nonconvex aggregates. We find that the macroscopic cohesion is strongly dependent on the strain and stress inhomogeneities developing inside the material. The largest cohesion is obtained for nearly homogeneous deformation at the beginning of unconfined axial compression and it evolves linearly with nonconvexity. Interestingly, the aggregates in a sheared packing tend to form more contacts with fewer neighboring aggregates as the degree of nonconvexity increases. We also find that shearing leads either to an isotropic distribution of tensile contacts or to the same privileged direction as that of compressive contacts.
authors.affiliation: LMGC, Université Montpellier 2-CNRS, Place Eugène Bataillon, F-34095 Cedex, France. baptiste.saint-cyr@univ-montp2.fr
authors.forename: Baptiste
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saint-Cyr
authors.forename: Farhang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Radjai
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Delenne
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sornay
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017276:Friction; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010316:Particle Size; D012212:Rheology / Q000379:methods*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids