Title: Self- diffusivity in a sheared granular material

Author (Poster): Andreea Panaitescu, Clark University

Abstract:

The diffusive properties of a three-dimensional granular material submitted to periodic shear deformations was studied using an internal imaging method. The position of approximate 3000 particles in the bulk of the system are identified and tracked over several shear cycles in order to measure the components of the diffusion tensor. We find that in a shear flow, the self-diffusion of the particles is anisotropic, with diffusion greater in the flow direction compared with the velocity gradient direction which in turn is greater than in the vorticity direction. The order in the system was measured with the Q6 order parameter and the radial distribution function. A detailed analysis of the material structure as a function of the shear cycle will be presented.