Clogging phenomena in a system of asymmetric dumbbells

AVK Reddy and KA Reddy and I Zuriguel and H Katsuragi, JOURNAL OF STATISTICAL MECHANICS-THEORY AND EXPERIMENT, 2021, 063201 (2021).

DOI: 10.1088/1742-5468/abffd3

We report numerical results aiming to unveil the role that the shape of asymmetric dumbbells has on the emergence of clogging in a two dimensional silo. To this end, dumbbells are designed adjoining two discs of different diameter giving rise to what are known as snowman shaped particles. Then, simulations performed for several outlet widths reveal that the standard case of a dumbbell conformed by two equally sized discs, is the one for which the system clogs more frequently. In this way, as the size difference among the two discs becomes greater, the system evolves from a dumbbell-like to a disc-like behavior. This phenomenon correlates very well with the evolution of several properties of the clogged arches, such as regularity or particles pressure. Finally, the analysis of the orientations of clogged dumbbells reveals a strong alignment of their long axis with the exit direction which seems to be barely dependent on the dumbbell asymmetry and the outlet size.

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