Related papers: Stick-slip dynamics in penetration experiments on …

We propose a generic model to describe the mechanical response and failure of systems which undergo a series of stick-slip events when subjected to an external load. We model the system as a bundle of fibers, where single fibers can…

The tribology between surfaces can have a profound impact on the response of a mechanical system, such as how granular particles are driven to flow. In this work, we perform experiments that time-resolve the tangential and normal components…

Oblique, low-velocity impacts onto extraterrestrial terrain are an inevitable occurrence during space exploration. We conduct two-dimensional discrete simulations to model such impacts into a bed of triangular grains. Finite element method…

Stick-slip -- the sequence of mechanical instabilities through which a slider advances on a solid substrate -- is pervasive throughout sliding friction, from nano to geological scales. Here we suggest that trapped cold ions in an optical…

This paper is concerned with the quasi-static rheology of packings of glass spheres of diameter d (d=0.2mm, 0.7mm or 3mm). Stick-slip behaviour is observed on small spheres, i.e d=0.2mm & 0.7mm ; one observes also in this case a weakening…

An asteroid spun up to its critical limit has unique surface mechanical properties that its gravity and the centrifugal force largely balance, creating a relaxation environment where low-energy events such as mass shedding may trigger…

The impact response of rubble-pile asteroids is essential for both elucidating their formation and evolution history and evaluating the efficacy of impact defense strategies. Although state-of-the-art numerical simulations have allowed for…

We study experimentally the fracture dynamics during the peeling at a constant velocity of a roller adhesive tape mounted on a freely rotating pulley. Thanks to a high speed camera, we measure, in an intermediate range of peeling…

Many small bodies in the solar system are believed to be rubble piles, a collection of smaller elements separated by voids. We propose a model for the structure of a self-gravitating rubble pile. Static friction prevents its elements from…

Asteroid surfaces are subjected to mechanical weathering processes that result in the development and evolution of regolith. Two proposed mechanisms--impact bombardment and thermal fatigue--have been proposed as viable and dominant…

The vertical thickness of debris discs is often used as a measure of these systems' dynamical excitation and as clues to the presence of hidden massive perturbers such as planetary embryos. However, this argument could be flawed because the…

We experimentally study the frictional behavior of a two-dimensional slider pulled slowly over a granular substrate comprised of photoelastic disks. The slider is vibrated at frequencies ranging from 0 to 30 Hz in a direction parallel to…

We analyze a bubble forming system composed of particles with competing long range repulsive and short range attractive interactions driven over a quasi-one-dimensional periodic substrate. We find various pinned and sliding phases as a…

We discuss the stick-slip motion of an elastic block sliding along a rigid substrate. We argue that for a given external shear stress this system shows a discontinuous nonequilibrium transition from a uniform stick state to uniform sliding…

We study fluctuations in the drag force experienced by an object moving through a granular medium. The successive formation and collapse of jammed states give a stick-slip nature to the fluctuations which are periodic at small depths but…

We study in detail the recent suggestions by Tshiprut et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 016101 (2005)] to tune tribological properties at the nanoscale by subjecting a substrate to periodic mechanical oscillations. We show that both in…

We performed micro-gravity collision experiments in our laboratory drop-tower using 5-cm-sized dust agglomerates with volume filling factors of 0.3 and 0.4, respectively. This work is an extension of our previous experiments reported in…

A tribological system consisting of two contacting blocks has been considered. One of them is arranged between two springs, the other is driven periodically. The kinetics of the system has been studied in the boundary friction mode, when an…

Context. Rotational instability of rubble-pile asteroids can trigger mass shedding, forming transient debris clouds that may provide the initial conditions for secondary formation in binary systems. Aims. We investigate the dynamical and…

Hydrodynamic interactions between two identical elastic dumbbells settling under gravity in a viscous fluid at low-Reynolds-number are investigated within the point-particle model. Evolution of a benchmark initial configuration is studied,…