Segregation-driven organization in chaotic granular flows.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 10518513.
- Also identified by PMC identifier 18349.
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Abstract
An important industrial problem that provides fascinating puzzles in pattern formation is the tendency for granular mixtures to de-mix or segregate. Small differences in either size or density lead to flow-induced segregation. Similar to fluids, noncohesive granular materials can display chaotic advection; when this happens chaos and segregation compete with each other, giving rise to a wealth of experimental outcomes. Segregated structures, obtained experimentally, display organization in the presence of disorder and are captured by a continuum flow model incorporating collisional diffusion and density-driven segregation. Under certain conditions, structures never settle into a steady shape. This may be the simplest experimental example of a system displaying competition between chaos and order.