Far-from-equilibrium Ostwald ripening in electrostatically driven granular powders

Binary Mixtures of Particles with Different Diffusivities Demix

The influence of size differences, shape, mass, and persistent motion on phase separation in binary mixtures has been intensively studied. Here we focus on the exclusive role of diffusivity differences in binary mixtures of equal-sized particles. We find an effective attraction between the less diffusive particles, which are essentially caged in the surrounding species with the higher diffusion constant. This effect leads to phase separation for systems above a critical size: A single close-packed cluster made up of the less diffusive species emerges. Experiments for testing our predictions are outlined.

Effect of grain size on the forces governing the dynamic behavior of electrostatically driven powder media

The aim of this paper is to identify the forces that govern the dynamic behavior of polydisperse granular systems under high electric fields in air media. In a previous paper, we reported the changes in the morphology and dynamics of grain structures under a frequency and amplitude variable voltage and summarized them in a diagram [L. M. Salvatierra et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 481, 194 (2009)]. In the present article, we investigate the influence of the grain size distribution and the speed of voltage increase during tests. We explain the main transitions observed in the diagram in terms of the change in grain size and the frequency-dependent electrical response, related to electrophoretic and dielectrophoretic interactions.

Antiphase synchronization of electrically shaken conducting beads

When a spherical conducting bead is placed in an electrode, it experiences an electric force. In a plane capacitor, it can undergo a periodic bouncing between the electrodes. Using a fast video camera, we measured the acceleration of the bead and the period of its motion as a function of the applied voltage. A mathematical model based on the hypothesis of electrostatic equilibrium is proposed to describe the dynamics of the system. We observe a stabilization of the trajectories: A bead bouncing between two electrodes tends to oscillate on a quasivertical trajectory, whatever its initial horizontal velocity. When two identical beads are placed together in a capacitor, they oscillate at the same frequency and an antiphase synchronization effect occurs. We propose a simple mechanism based on a Kuramoto-like model to explain it.

Hydrodynamics of a vibrated granular monolayer

We investigate the long-standing puzzle of phase separation in a granular monolayer vibrated from below. Although this system is three dimensional, an interesting dynamics occurs mostly in the horizontal plane, perpendicular to the direction of vibration. Experiments [Olafsen and Urbach, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 4369 (1998)] demonstrated that for a high amplitude of vibration the system is in the gaslike phase, but when the amplitude becomes smaller than a certain threshold, a phase separation occurs: A solidlike dense condensate of particles forms in the center of the system, surrounded by particles in the gaslike phase. We explain theoretically the experimentally observed coexistence of dilute and dense phases, employing Navier-Stokes granular hydrodynamics. We show that the phase separation is associated with a negative compressibility of granular gas.