Related papers: A simple dynamical model of a freely-falling train…
In the present paper we revisit, theoretical and experimentally, the fall of a folded U-chain and of a pile-chain. The model calculation implies the division of the whole system into two subsystems of variable mass, allowing to explore the…
Granular intrusions, such as dynamic impact or wheel locomotion, are complex multiphase phenomena where the grains exhibit solid-like and fluid-like characteristics together with an ejected gas-like phase. Despite decades of modeling…
Three-dimensional shell-like structures can be obtained spontaneously at the microscale from the self-folding of 2D templates of rigid panels. At least for simple structures, the motion of each panel is consistent with a Brownian process…
We study the motion of elastic networks driven over a random substrate. Our model which includes local friction forces leads to complex dynamical behavior. We find a transition to a sliding state which belongs to a new universality class.…
Frictional sliding is an intrinsically complex phenomenon, emerging from the interplay between driving forces, elasto-frictional instabilities, interfacial nonlinearity and dissipation, material inertia and bulk geometry. We show that…
When a falling ball chain strikes a surface, a tension is created that pulls the chain downward. This causes a downward acceleration that is larger than free-fall, which has been observed by recent experiments. Here a theoretical…
A simple model is proposed for the buckling and coiling instability of a viscous "fluid rope" falling on a plane. By regarding a fluid rope as a one-dimensional flow, this model accounts for only the axial and shared viscous forces. Our…
We numerically study the dynamics of a passive fluid droplet confined within a microchannel whose walls are covered with a thin layer of active gel. The latter represents a fluid of extensile material modelling, for example, a suspension of…
A theory for kinetic arrest in isotropic systems of repulsive, radially-interacting particles is presented that predicts exponents for the scaling of various macroscopic quantities near the rigidity transition that are in agreement with…
We investigate the gravity driven rapid failure of a granular step composed of non-cohesive steel beads. The step is initially held together with electromagnets, and released when the current is switched off. We visualize the surface and…
The dynamics of a simple pencil with a tip laid on a rough table and set free to fall under the action of gravity is scrutinized as a pedagogic case study. The full inquiry is anticipated by a review of three other simplified movements…
We numerically study a simple sliding system: a rigid mass pulled by a spring with a strong in-plane stiffness anisotropy and a small misalignment angle. Simulations show that the apparent stick phase appearing in this system is in reality…
In this work, we examine the whip dynamics in a freely falling chain. We consider an inextensible chain with free ends in the presence of gravity hanging from a fixed pulley. If the configuration is unbalanced, the chain begins to…
A uniform, flexible and frictionless chain falling link by link from a heap by the edge of a table falls with an acceleration $g/3$ if the motion is nonconservative, but $g/2$ if the motion is conservative, $g$ being the acceleration due to…
A 3D pendulum consists of a rigid body, supported at a fixed pivot, with three rotational degrees of freedom. The pendulum is acted on by a gravitational force. Symmetry assumptions are shown to lead to the planar 1D pendulum and to the…
When a falling chain strikes a surface, it can accelerate downwards faster than free-fall. This counterintuitive effect occurs when a tension is created in the chain above where it strikes the surface. The size of this tension, and how it…
"Marching of freely falling plates" is a fluid dynamics video for the Gallery of Fluid Motion submitted to APS-DFD 2011 at Baltimore Maryland. The problem of a freely falling plate is of interest in both fluid mechanics and nonlinear…
Experiments on the motion of a particle on an inclined rough plane have yielded some surprising results. For example, it was found that the frictional force acting on the ball is viscous, {\it i.e.} proportional to the velocity rather than…
Granular flow dynamics on a vertically vibrated pile is studied by means of both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. As already revealed, the depth-averaged velocity of a fully-fluidized granular pile under strong vibration,…
We study the dynamics of three elastic particles in a finite interval where two light particles are separated by a heavy ``piston''. The piston undergoes surprisingly complex motion that is oscillatory at short time scales but seemingly…