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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Visualization of Failure and the Associated Grain-Scale Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soils under Shear using Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

Visualization of Failure and the Associated Grain-Scale Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soils under Shear using Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

Published on: September 29, 2019

Depletion force in a bidisperse granular layer.

Paul Melby¹, Alexis Prevost, David A Egolf

¹Department of Physics, Georgetown University, 37th & O Streets, Washington, DC 20057, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|February 1, 2008

Summary

We show how depletion forces cause size segregation in vibrated sphere mixtures. This phenomenon is explained by colloidal theory and a Boltzmann factor, defining an effective temperature for the system.

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Area of Science:

Physics
Materials Science
Statistical Mechanics

Background:

Depletion forces are crucial in colloidal systems, influencing particle interactions and phase behavior.
Size segregation in granular materials is a complex phenomenon observed in various natural and industrial settings.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate and quantify the effect of depletion forces on size segregation in vibrated granular mixtures.
To model the observed size segregation using principles from equilibrium colloidal systems.

Main Methods:

Experimental investigation of vertically vibrated mixtures of large and small steel spheres.
Computational simulations of the same system to analyze particle interactions.
Application of depletion potential and Boltzmann factor for theoretical description.

Main Results:

Observed significant size segregation in the granular mixtures.
Demonstrated a large increase in the pair correlation function for large spheres at short distances.
Accurately described the system's behavior using a combination of depletion potential and a Boltzmann factor.

Conclusions:

Depletion forces play a significant role in driving size segregation in vibrated granular systems.
The Boltzmann factor effectively defines an emergent temperature for the granular system.
The study provides a theoretical framework linking colloidal physics to granular dynamics.