Related papers: Freestanding loadbearing structures with Z-shaped …
Simulation results are presented on the collapse of granular columns composed of rod-like particles. Columns can be stable and free-standing if either the friction coefficient is large enough, or the rods long enough. Destabilizing…
Granular packings of non-convex or elongated particles can form free-standing structures like walls or arches. For some particle shapes, such as staples, the rigidity arises from interlocking of pairs of particles, but the origins of…
We review recent progress in the theoretical description of anisotropic hard colloidal particles. The shapes considered range from rods and dumbbells to rounded cubes, polyhedra and to biaxial particles with arbitrary shape. Our focus is on…
For fundamentally characterizing the effect of hierarchical structure in granular matter, a set of compression-relaxation tests for dust particles and glass beads confined in a cylindrical cell was performed. Typical diameter of both grains…
In this study, we investigate the stability and solid fraction of columns comprised of highly non-convex particles. These particles are constructed by extruding arms onto the faces of Platonic solids, a configuration we term \emph{Platonic…
The presence of interparticle cohesion can drastically change the behavior of granular materials. For instance, powders are challenging to handle, and one can make a sandcastle using wet grains. In this study, we report experimental results…
The settling of heavy spherical particles in a column of quiescent fluid is investigated. The performed experiments cover a range of Galileo numbers ($110 \leq \text{Ga} \leq 310$) for a fixed density ratio of $\Gamma = \rho_p/\rho_f =…
Colloidal particles can spontaneously self-assemble into ordered structures, which not only can manipulate the propagation of light, but also vibration or phonons. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we study the self-assembly of perfectly…
The structure of random sphere packings in mechanical equilibrium in prescribed stress states, as studied by molecular dynamics simulations, strongly depends on the assembling procedure. Frictionless packings in the limit of low pressure…
Nanoparticles with "sticky patches" have long been proposed as building blocks for the self-assembly of complex structures. The synthetic realizability of such patchy particles, however, greatly lags behind predictions of patterns they…
Manipulating the way in which colloidal particles self-organise is a central challenge in the design of functional soft materials. Meeting this challenge requires the use of building blocks that interact with one another in a highly…
We investigate the structural properties of a two-dimensional system of ellipsoidal particles carrying a linear quadrupole moment in their center. These particles represent a simple model for a variety of uncharged, non-polar conjugated…
Assemblies of granular particles mechanically stable under their own weight contain arches. These are structural units identified as sets of mutually stable grains. It is generally assumed that these arches shield the weight above them and…
The self-assembly of particles into organized structures is a key feature of living organisms and a major engineering challenge. While it may proceed through the binding of perfectly matched, puzzle-pieces-like particles, many other…
Unstable systems of fluidized grains in a very-narrow vertical tube can auto-defluidize after some time, the settling particles forming either a glass- or crystal-like structure. We carried out experiments using different polymer spheres,…
We use numerical simulations to show how noninteracting hard particles binding to a deformable elastic shell may self-assemble into a variety of linear patterns. This is a result of the nontrivial elastic response to deformations of shells.…
We show using computer simulations and mean field theory that a system of particles in two dimensions, when confined laterally by a pair of parallel hard walls within a quasi one dimensional channel, possesses several anomalous structural…
We systematically investigate the self-assembly of anisotropic cone-shaped particles decorated by ring-like attractive patches. We demonstrate that the self-assembled clusters, which arise due to the conical particle's anisotropic shape…
We describe a series of experiments involving the creation of cylindrical packings of star-shaped particles, and an exploration of the stability of these packings. The stars cover a broad range of arm sizes and frictional properties. We…
To understand the process of pattern formation in a low-density granular flow, we propose a simple particle model. This model considers spherical particles moving over an inclined flat surface based on three forces: gravity as the driving…