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Liquid-Gas-Like Phase Transition in Sand Flow Under Microgravity

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Abstract

In previous studies of granular flow, it has been found that gravity plays a compacting role, causing convection and stratification by density. However, there is a lack of research and analysis of the characteristics of different particles’ motion under normal gravity contrary to microgravity. In this paper, we conduct model experiments on sand flow using a model test system based on a drop tower under microgravity, within which the characteristics and development processes of granular flow under microgravity are captured by high-speed cameras. The configurations of granular flow are simulated using a modified MPS (moving particle simulation), which is a mesh-free, pure Lagrangian method. Moreover, liquid-gas-like phase transitions in the sand flow under microgravity, including the transitions to “escaped”, “jumping”, and “scattered” particles are highlighted, and their effects on the weakening of shear resistance, enhancement of fluidization, and changes in particle-wall and particle-particle contact mode are analyzed. This study could help explain the surface geology evolution of small solar bodies and elucidate the nature of granular interaction.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41072202), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (Grant No. NCET-11-0382) and the Key Laboratory of Microgravity, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Yu Huang, Chongqiang Zhu, Xiang Xiang & Wuwei Mao

  2. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Yu Huang

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  1. Yu Huang
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  2. Chongqiang Zhu
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  3. Xiang Xiang
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  4. Wuwei Mao
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Correspondence to Yu Huang.

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Yu Huang holds PhD degree at Tongji University.

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Huang, Y., Zhu, C., Xiang, X. et al. Liquid-Gas-Like Phase Transition in Sand Flow Under Microgravity. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 27, 155–170 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-015-9424-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-015-9424-2

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