Granular flows as a research area investigate the collective dynamics of macroscopic, discrete particles (e.g., grains, beads, powders) that interact via contact forces, friction, and collisions, exhibiting behaviors intermediate between solids and fluids. The field addresses dense and dilute regimes, jamming and yielding, shear band formation, segregation, and rheology under various driving conditions (gravity, vibration, shear). It integrates continuum modeling, kinetic theory, and discrete element simulations, supported by experiments, to characterize constitutive laws, stress transmission, energy dissipation, and pattern formation, with implications for geophysical processes, industrial handling, and fundamental nonequilibrium statistical physics.
No two snowflakes may be the same, but models that fail to take these variations into consideration often fall short when calculating the way snow accumulates on roofs. In Physics of Fluids, researchers from Harbin Institute ...
General Physics
Mar 10, 2026
0
19
Since 10 January 2026, the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) has received reports of hundreds of "whumpfs" (i.e., sounds indicating a collapse in the snowpack) and of remote triggering events—unmistakable ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 18, 2026
0
65
Brazilian researchers have developed a technique that estimates the force exerted on each grain of sand in a dune from images. This method, which is based on numerical simulations and artificial intelligence (AI), transforms ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 23, 2025
0
167
What looks like ordinary sand, rocks or snow flowing in one direction can actually hide swirling currents that move in multiple directions beneath the surface.
General Physics
Aug 30, 2025
0
241
Researchers have shown for the first time how hidden motions could control how granular materials such as soil and snow slip and slide, confirming a long-suspected hypothesis. The knowledge could help in understanding how ...
General Physics
Aug 26, 2025
1
41
What if particles don't slow down in a crowd, but move faster? Physicists from Leiden worked together and discovered a new state of matter, where particles pass on energy through collisions and create more movement when packed ...
General Physics
Aug 4, 2025
1
379
Compared to single-channel meandering rivers, multichannel braided rivers are often found in environments with sparse vegetation and coarse, shifting bars of sediment. Past research has called the way in which the paths of ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 2, 2025
0
43
A research team from the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has developed a new computational model to study the movement of granular materials such as soils, sands and powders. By ...
General Physics
May 16, 2025
0
85
Did you eat cereal this morning? Or have you walked on a gravel path? Maybe you had a headache and had to take a pill? If you answered any of these questions with a yes, you interacted with a granular system today.
Earth Sciences
Apr 28, 2025
0
20
In bird colonies, schools of fish and cycling pelotons, significant interactions occur between individuals through the surrounding fluid. These interactions are well understood in fluids such as air and water, but what happens ...
