Emergent Strain-Stiffening in Interlocked Granular Chains

TL;DR

This paper uncovers a strain-stiffening behavior in granular chain packings, modeled by a universal relation linking force, friction, and chain properties, bridging polymer physics and macroscopic granular systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model explaining emergent strain-stiffening in granular chains using principles from polymer physics and friction amplification.

Findings

Force increases exponentially with indentation depth and number of beads.

The resistance force follows a universal relation involving friction and chain parameters.

The model accurately predicts experimental measurements of granular chain stiffness.

Abstract

Granular chain packings exhibit a striking emergent strain-stiffening behavior despite the individual looseness of the constitutive chains. Using indentation experiments on such assemblies, we measure an exponential increase in the collective resistance force $F$ with the indentation depth $z$, and with the square root of the number $\mathcal{N}$ of beads per chain. These two observations are respectively reminiscent of the self-amplification of friction in a capstan or in interleaved books, as well as the physics of polymers. The experimental data are well captured by a novel model based on these two ingredients. Specifically, the resistance force is found to vary according to the universal relation: $\log F \sim \mu \sqrt{\mathcal{N}} \Phi^{11/8}z/ b $, where $\mu$ is the friction coefficient between two elementary beads, $b$ is their size, and $\Phi$ is the volume fraction of chain beads when semi-diluted in a surrounding medium of unconnected beads. Our study suggests that theories normally confined to the realm of polymer physics at a molecular level can be used to explain phenomena at a macroscopic level. This class of systems enables the study of friction in complex assemblies, with practical implications for the design of new materials, the textile industry, and biology.