Origin of geometric cohesion in non-convex granular materials: interplay between interdigitation and rotational constraints enhancing frictional stability

TL;DR

This study investigates how non-convex particle shapes and their microstructural arrangements influence the stability and cohesion of granular piles, revealing mechanisms like interdigitation and rotational constraints that enhance frictional stability.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive experimental analysis linking particle geometry and preparation protocols to internal structure and stability in non-convex granular materials.

Findings

Interdigitation and rotational constraints significantly increase pile stability.

A new stability indicator correlates strongly with observed stability.

Particle shape and preparation protocol critically influence microstructure and cohesion.

Abstract

We present a series of experiments investigating the local microstructure of cylindrical piles composed of highly concave particles. By systematically varying particle geometry -- from spheres to strongly non-convex polypods -- as well as frictional properties and the number of branches, we explore how these parameters, together with the preparation protocol, shape the internal structure of the system. Using X-ray tomography combined with a dedicated image-analysis pipeline, we accurately extract the position, orientation, and contacts of every particle in each pile. This allows us to quantify the evolution of key structural observables as a function of particle geometry and preparation method. In particular, we measure the distributions of local packing fraction, coordination number, number of neighbors, and contact locations, along with particle-particle positional and orientational correlations. More importantly, we construct a new stability indicator that correlates perfectly with the observed pile stabilities, enabling us to identify the fundamental mechanisms responsible for \textit{geometrically induced cohesion} in granular systems composed of non-interlocking particle shapes: interdigitation, rotational constraint, friction-mediated cohesion, and the ability of a pile to re-stabilize.