Gas-cluster transition of granular matter under vibration in microgravity

P. Évesque1, E. Falcon2, R. Wunenburger3, S. Fauve4, C. Lecoutre-Chabot3, Y. Garrabos3 and D. Beysens5

1 LMS2M, École Centrale Paris, 92 295 Chatenay-Malabry Cedex, France.
2 Lab. Physique, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d'Italie 69007 Lyon, France.
3 ICMCB, Chateau Brivazac, av. du Dr. A. Schweitzer, 33 608 Pessac Cedex, France.
4 L.P.S., École Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France.
5 DRFMC, Commissariat à l'&Eacutenergie Atomique Grenoble, 38 054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.

Reference:

in Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Microgravity Research and Applications in Physical Sciences and Biotechnology, Sorrento (Italy), Sept. 10 - 15, 2000, European Space Agency SP-454 (Ed.), pp. 829-834 (2001)

Abstract:

We report an experimental study of a "gas" of inelastically colliding particles, excited by vibrations in low gravity. In the case of a dilute granular medium, we observe a spatially homogeneous gas-like regime, the pressure of which scales like the 3/2 power of the vibration velocity. When the density of the medium is increased, the spatially homogeneous fluidised state is no longer stable but displays the formation of a motionless dense cluster surrounded by low particle density regions.

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