Structural properties of wet granular beds subjected to tapping

Abstract

Based on a simple numerical model for wet granular beds, we study the structural properties of wet particles subjected to tapping in terms of the global anisotropy and angular distribution presented by their contacts. The model allows to generate 2-dimensional packings of disks that can form capillary bridges due to the presence of interstitial liquid. A pseudodynamic simulation of adhesive hard disks has been implemented. The bed is subjected to a tapping-like excitation and we study the evolution of structural anisotropy of the packing with the number of taps. We also analyse the behavior of the angular distribution of contacts and anisotropy as a function of tapping intensity and liquid content. Present results help to better understand the behavior found in a previous work for the packing fraction of these systems. They also demonstrate that anisotropy alone not always helps to completely understand the behavior of the structural properties of wet particles.