Phase transition in a static granular system

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Published 10 May 2007 Europhysics Letters Association
, , Citation Matthias Schröter et al 2007 EPL 78 44004 DOI 10.1209/0295-5075/78/44004

0295-5075/78/4/44004

Abstract

We find that a column of glass beads exhibits a well-defined transition between two phases that differ in their resistance to shear. Pulses of fluidization are used to prepare static sedimented states with well-defined particle volume fractions ϕ in the range 0.57–0.63. The resistance to shear is determined by slowly inserting a rod into the column of beads. Force measurements and bed height measurements both indicate that the transition occurs at ϕ = 0.60 for a range of speeds of the rod.

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10.1209/0295-5075/78/44004