Microstructural characterization of random packings of cubic particles

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Statistical Physics
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Random packing studies traditionally focus on spherical particles.
• Cubic particle packings are relevant to diverse fields like materials fabrication, geology, and conservation.
• Limited understanding exists regarding the structure and statistical properties of cubic particle packings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform the first detailed simulation and characterization of random packings of non-overlapping cubic particles.
• To compute microstructural descriptors and analyze their dependence on system size and porosity.
• To investigate the presence and extent of spatial and orientational order in these packings.

Main Methods:

• Development of a modified random sequential addition algorithm for generating cubic packings.
• Computation of key microstructural descriptors: radial distribution function, two-point probability function, orientational correlation function, specific surface, and mean chord length.
• Analysis of the impact of finite system size and porosity on packing characteristics.

Main Results:

• The simulation successfully generated random packings of cubic particles.
• Spatial and orientational long-range order were identified in the packings.
• This order becomes more pronounced at higher packing densities.
• The maximum observed packing fraction was approximately 0.57.

Conclusions:

• Random packings of cubic particles exhibit significant spatial and orientational order.
• The findings provide crucial statistical descriptors for understanding such systems.
• This research lays the groundwork for further studies in fields utilizing cubic particle assemblies.