Abstract
Extracting structure and ordering information from the bulk of granular materials is a challenging task. Here we present Spin-Echo Small Angle Neutron Scattering Measurements in combination with computer simulations on a fine powder of silica, before and after uniaxial compression. The cohesive powder packing is modeled by using molecular dynamics simulations and the structure, in terms of the density–density correlation function, is calculated from the simulation and compared with experiment. In the dense case, both quantitative and qualitative agreement between measurement and simulations is observed, thus creating the desired link between experiment and computer simulation. Further simulations with appropriate attractive potentials and adequate preparation procedures are needed in order to capture the very loose-packed cohesive powders.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Chris Duif at the Reactor InstituteDelft for valuable discussions and help with performing the experimental part of this work. The authors would like to thank Sander Brouwer at DelftChemTech for performing the N2 porosimetry measurement on our silica powder. This work is part of the research programme of the ‘Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM)’, which is financially supported by the ‘Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)’.
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Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
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Andersson, R., Bouwman, W.G., Luding, S. et al. Structure in cohesive powders studied with spin-echo small angle neutron scattering. Granular Matter 10, 407–414 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-008-0109-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-008-0109-z