Mechanisms of dissipation in wet granular matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates how liquid bridges between grains in wet granular matter dissipate energy during impacts, combining experiments and theory to understand the dominant mechanisms affecting its mechanical behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of dissipation mechanisms in wet granular matter, emphasizing the role of capillary bridge rupture.

Findings

Capillary bridge rupture accounts for most dissipation in wet granular matter.

Rupture energy loss varies with impact energy.

Hysteretic formation and rupture of liquid bridges explain impact dynamics.

Abstract

The impact dynamics between wet surfaces, which dominates the mechanical properties of wet granular matter, is studied both experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that the hysteretic formation and rupture of liquid capillary bridges between adjacent grains accounts reasonably well for most relevant cases of wet granular matter. The various dissipation mechanisms are discussed with particular emphasis on their relevance. Variations of the rupture energy loss with the impact energy are quantified and discussed.