Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles
Published on: February 4, 2013
Packings of irregular polyhedral particles: strength, structure, and effects of angularity
Emilien Azéma1, Farhang Radjai, Frédéric Dubois
1Université Montpellier 2, CNRS, LMGC, Cc 048, Place Eugène Bataillon, F-34095 Montpellier cedex 05, France. emilien.azema@univ-montp2.fr
Abstract:
We present a systematic numerical investigation of the shear strength and structure of granular packings composed of irregular polyhedral particles. The angularity of the particles is varied by increasing the number of faces from 8 (octahedronlike shape) to 596. We find that the shear strength increases with angularity up to a maximum value and saturates as the particles become more angular (below 46 faces). At the same time, the packing fraction increases to a peak value but declines for more angular particles. We analyze the connectivity and anisotropy of the microstructure by considering both the contacts and branch vectors joining particle centers. The increase of the shear strength with angularity is shown to be due to a net increase of the fabric and force anisotropies but at higher particle angularity a rapid falloff of the fabric anisotropy is compensated by an increase of force anisotropy, leading thus to the saturation of shear strength.
Related Concept Videos
Structures of Solids
Shape and Texture of Coarse Aggregate
Relation between Poisson's ratio, Modulus of Elasticity and Modulus of Rigidity
Ionic Crystal Structures
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
Molecular Shapes
Two regions of electron density in a diatomic...
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...
