History dependence of mechanical properties in granular systems

TL;DR

This study investigates how the mechanical properties of granular media depend on their deformation history through simulations, revealing strain rate effects on packing and elastic constants that differ from frictionless systems.

Contribution

It introduces a numerical analysis of history dependence in frictional granular packings, highlighting strain rate effects on critical packing and elastic properties.

Findings

Critical packing fraction depends on strain rate.

Elastic constants vary logarithmically with strain rate.

Behavior contrasts with frictionless jamming transitions.

Abstract

We study the history dependence of the mechanical properties of granular media by numerical simulations. We perform a compaction of frictional disk packings in a two-dimensional system by controlling the area of the domain with various strain rates. We then find the strain rate dependence of the critical packing fraction above which the pressure becomes finite. The observed behavior makes a contrast with the well-studied jamming transitions for frictionless disk packings. We also observe that the elastic constants of the disk packings depend on the strain rate logarithmically. This result provides a experimental test for the history dependence of granular systems.