Delayed Scattering of Solitary Waves from Interfaces in a Granular Container

TL;DR

This study investigates how solitary waves behave at interfaces in a symmetric granular container, revealing elastic scattering at one interface and delayed transmission due to gap opening at the other, with implications for energy trapping.

Contribution

It introduces the observation of delayed solitary wave transmission linked to gap opening phenomena in granular media, expanding understanding of wave-interface interactions.

Findings

Elastic scattering at one interface

Delayed wave transmission at the other interface

Delay increases with mass ratio at interfaces

Abstract

In granular media, the characterization of the behavior of solitary waves around interfaces is of importance in order to look for more applications of these systems. We study the behavior of solitary waves at both interfaces of a symmetric granular container, a class of systems that has received recent attention because it posses the feature of energy trapping. Hertzian contact is assumed. We have found that the scattering process is elastic at one interface, while at the other interface it is observed that the transmitted solitary wave has stopped its movement during a time that gets longer when the ratio between masses at the interfaces increases. The origin of this effect can be traced back to the phenomenon of gaps opening, recently observed experimentally.