Experimental Test of the Edwards Volume Ensemble for Tapped Granular Packings

Y Yuan and Y Xing and J Zheng and ZF Li and HF Yuan and SY Mang and ZK Zeng and CJ Xia and H Tong and W Kob and J Zhang and YJ Wang, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 127, 018002 (2021).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.018002

Using x-ray tomography, we experimentally investigate granular packings subject to mechanical tapping for three types of beads with different friction coefficients. We validate the Edwards volume ensemble in these three-dimensional granular systems and establish a granular version of thermodynamic zeroth law. Within the Edwards framework, we also explicitly clarify how friction influences granular statistical mechanics by modifying the density of states, which allows us to determine the entropy as a function of packing fraction and friction. Additionally, we obtain a granular jamming phase diagram based on geometric coordination number and packing fraction.

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