Abstract
By using a recently developed method for discrete modeling of nonspherical particles, we simulate the random packings of granular regular polygons with three to 11 edges under gravity. The effects of shape and friction on the packing structures are investigated by various structural parameters, including packing fraction, the radial distribution function, coordination number, Voronoi tessellation, and bond-orientational order. We find that packing fraction is generally higher for geometrically nonfrustrated regular polygons, and can be increased by the increase of edge number and decrease of friction. The changes of packing fraction are linked with those of the microstructures, such as the variations of the translational and orientational orders and local configurations. In particular, the free areas of Voronoi tessellations (which are related to local packing fractions) can be described by log-normal distributions for all polygons. The quantitative analyses establish a clearer picture for the packings of regular polygons.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 062203 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Physical Review E (Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics) |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Dec 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 American Physical Society.
Keywords
- granular materials
- nature
- polygons