We investigate the existence of random close and random loose packing limits in two-dimensional packings of monodisperse hard disks. A statistical mechanics approach–based on several approximations to predict the probability distribution of volumes–suggests the existence of the limiting...

In an earlier paper, Ngan (Phys. Rev. E 68 (2003) 011301) proposed a statistical mechanics-based theory to predict the mathematical form of the probability force distribution of contact forces in stressed granular packings. However, the wrong choice of the mean-force constraint in that work...

For packed i.e., “jammed”, hard and rough objects kinetic energy is a minor and ignorable quantity, as is elastic strain. Hence in the static case, the stress equations need supplementing by “missing equations” depending solely on configurations. A different pathway of analysis is the...

Although there is a vast engineering literature for granular materials, as a subject for physicists it has seen great growth in recent years. This is because, when stripped down to the fundamental problem, it is quite novel, and demands a rethink of the kind of laws familiar elsewhere in...

We consider the problem of stress transmission in granular materials. We formulate the simplest statically determinate problem of stress transmission through a static granular material. This is the case when grains are rigid and have an average coordination number of z̄=d+1. Under this...

The simplest solvable problem of stress transmission through a static granular material is when the grains are perfectly rigid and have an average coordination number of z̄=d+1. Under these conditions there exists an analysis of stress which is independent of the analysis of strain and the d...