LIQUID-SOLID TRANSITION IN BIDISPERSE GRANULATES

Simulation results of dense granulates with particles of different sizes are compared with theoretical predictions concerning the mixture pressure. An effective correlation function is computed which depends only on the total volume fraction and on the dimensionless width of the size-distribution function. From simulation data of elastic and weakly dissipative systems, one can predict how much disorder (size-dispersity) is necessary to avoid ordering effects due to crystallization. Finally, a global equation of state is proposed, which unifies both the dilute, disordered gas/fluid and the dense, solid regime.