Collective Granular Dynamics in a Shaken Container at Low Gravity Conditions

We investigate the collective dissipative behavior of a model granular material (steel beads) when subjected to vibration. To this end, we study the attenuation of the amplitude of an oscillating leaf spring whose free end carries a rectangular box partly filled with granulate. To eliminate the perturbing influence of gravity, the experiment was performed under conditions of microgravity during parabolic flights. Different regimes of excitation could be distinguished, namely, a gas-like state of disordered particle motion and a state where the particles slosh back and forth between the container walls in
a collective way, referred to as collect-and-collide regime. For the latter regime, we provide an expression for the container size leading to maximal dissipation of energy, that also marks the transition to the gas like regime. Also for systems driven at
fixed amplitude and frequency, we find both the gas regime and the collect-and-collide regime resulting in similar dissipative behavior as in the case of the attenuating vibration.