Noncohesive granular materials in slowly rotated containers mix by discrete avalanches; such a process can be described mathematically as a mapping of avalanching wedges. A natural decomposition is thus proposed: a geometrical part...
moreNoncohesive granular materials in slowly rotated containers mix by discrete avalanches; such a process can be described mathematically as a mapping of avalanching wedges. A natural decomposition is thus proposed: a geometrical part consisting of a mapping wedge→ wedge, which captures large-scale aspects of the problem; a dynamical part confined to the avalanche itself, which captures details emanating from differences in size/density/morphology. Both viewpoints are developed and comparisons with ...