A Laboratory Model of two-dimensional Granular Collisions

Many astrophysical and geophysical processes involve repeated inelastic collisions between discrete granular particles in large-scale flows. Every time the particles collide with one another they lose kinetic energy so that the system cools over time. Examples include the clustering of particles in a granular gas [1], flow in avalanches [2], and the catastrophic collapse of Antarctic ice-shelves [3]. In order to investigate such inelastic, many-particle, systems, we have studied ~2000 particles moving on a two-dimensional, 90 cm x 90 cm, anodized aluminum plate. Our particles are composed of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) pellets with diameter ~0.5 cm. When placed on a heated flat surface, the pellets float on a cushion of sublimated gas, so that they move in two dimensions essentially without friction. Over time (~ 1 minute), the particles slowly lose mass until they have completely disappeared. Collisions with the plate boundaries are made elastic by sloping the plate's edges slightly upward. The experiment is filmed from above with a high-speed digital camera, so that translational and rotational kinetic energy of each particle can be tracked over time. Our results show qualitative clustering of pellets into regions where many collisions occur, as expected from models of inelastic gases [4]. We will show the results for different initial conditions including "clouds" of pellets colliding with each other at different initial impact velocities. [1] I. Goldhirsch and G. Zanetti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1619 (1993); S. McNamara and W.R. Young. Phys. Rev. E 50, R28 (1994). [2] P. Bartelt and O. Buser, Ann. Glaciol. 51, 98 (2010). [3] N. Guttenberg et al., Ann. Glaciol. 52, 51 (2011). [4] For a review see: I. Goldhirsch, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 35, 267 (2003).