Softer than soft: Diving into squishy granular matter

Authors

  • Jonathan Barés LMGC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7345-0390
  • Manuel Cárdenas-Barrantes LMGC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
  • David Cantor Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Mathieu Renouf LMGC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
  • Émilien Azéma LMGC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, and Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4279/pip.140009

Keywords:

Granular matter, Numerical simulations, Experiments, Squishy granular matter

Abstract

Softer than soft, squishy granular matter is composed of grains capable of significantly changing their shape (typically a deformation larger than 10%) without tearing or breaking. Because of the difficulty to test these materials experimentally and numerically, such a family of discrete systems remains largely ignored in the granular matter physics field despite being commonly found in nature and industry. Either from a numerical, experimental, or analytical point of view, the study of highly deformable granular matter involves several challenges covering, for instance: (i) the need to include a large diversity of grain rheology, (ii) the need to consider large material deformations, and (iii) analysis of the effects of large body distortion on the global scale. In this article, we propose a thorough definition of these squishy granular systems and we summarize the upcoming challenges in their study.

Published

2022-05-28

How to Cite

Barés, J., Cárdenas-Barrantes, M., Cantor, D., Renouf, M., & Azéma, Émilien. (2022). Softer than soft: Diving into squishy granular matter. Papers in Physics, 14, 140009. https://doi.org/10.4279/pip.140009

Issue

Section

Open Review Articles