Abstract
3D computer simulations and experiments are employed to study random packings of compressible spherical grains under external confining stress. In the rigid ball limit, we find a continuous transition in which the stress vanishes as , where is the (solid phase) volume density. The value of depends on whether the grains interact via only normal forces (giving rise to random close packings) or by a combination of normal and friction generated transverse forces (producing random loose packings). In both cases, near the transition, the system's response is controlled by localized force chains.
- Received 25 August 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.4160
©2000 American Physical Society