Two-phase densification of cohesive granular aggregates

When poured into a container, cohesive granular materials form low-density, open granular aggregates. If pressure is applied to these aggregates, they densify by particle rearrangement. Here we introduce experimental and computational results suggesting that densification by particle rearrangement occurs in the form of a phase transition between two configurational phases of the aggregate. Then we show that the energy landscape associated with particle rearrangement is nonconvex and therefore consistent with our interpretation of the experimental and computational results. Our conclusions are relevant to many technological processes and natural phenomena.