Unifying Impacts in Granular Matter from Quicksand to Cornstarch

J. John Soundar Jerome (1, 2) , Nicolas Vandenberghe (1) , Yoël Forterre (2)

1 IRPHE - Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Equilibre
2 IUSTI - Institut universitaire des systèmes thermiques industriels

A sharp transition between liquefaction and transient solidification is observed during impact on a granular suspension depending on the initial packing fraction. We demonstrate, via high-speed pressure measurements and a two-phase modeling, that this transition is controlled by a coupling between the granular pile dilatancy and the interstitial fluid pressure generated by the impact. Our results provide a generic mechanism for explaining the wide variety of impact responses in particulate media, from dry quicksand in powders to impact hardening in shear-thickening suspensions like cornstarch.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

J. John Soundar Jerome, Nicolas Vandenberghe, Yoël Forterre. Unifying Impacts in Granular Matter from Quicksand to Cornstarch. Physical Review Letters, 2016, 117 (9), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.098003⟩. ⟨hal-01431977⟩