Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026
07:15
Tactile Vibrating Toolkit and Driving Simulation Platform for Driving-Related Research
Published on: December 18, 2020
5.1K
Clogging Transition of Vibration-Driven Vehicles Passing through Constrictions
G A Patterson1, P I Fierens1, F Sangiuliano Jimka2
1Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Lavardén 315, 1437 C. A. de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Physical Review Letters
|December 30, 2017
Summary
This study reveals that self-propelled agents transition from unclogged to clogged states when crowding at constrictions. This phenomenon, previously seen in non-living systems, suggests similar behavior in living crowds.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Complex Systems
- Collective Behavior
Background:
- Active matter and self-propelled agents exhibit complex behaviors when navigating confined spaces.
- Previous studies on colloids and granulars showed intermittencies and clogging in narrow passages.
- Understanding crowd dynamics in constrictions is crucial for various fields, from physics to social sciences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the passage dynamics of elongated self-propelled vehicles through a constriction.
- To identify and characterize the emergence of intermittent flow and clogging phenomena.
- To determine if self-propelled agents exhibit a transition to a clogged state similar to vibrated systems.
Main Methods:
- Experimental setup involving elongated self-propelled vehicles moving through a bottleneck.
- Observation and analysis of vehicle flow patterns and congestion dynamics.
- Measurement of clog duration and its convergence properties with increasing observation time.
Main Results:
- Observed intermittencies in passage, consistent with active matter behavior at narrow doors.
- Identified a transition from an unclogged to a clogged state as crowding at the constriction increased.
- Demonstrated that the mean clog duration fails to converge with increasing measurement time in the clogged state.
Conclusions:
- The clogging transition observed in self-propelled agents mirrors phenomena in vibrated granular and colloidal systems.
- This suggests that similar clogging dynamics may occur in biological systems, such as human or animal crowds, navigating constrictions.
- The findings provide a fundamental insight into collective motion and congestion in active matter.
Related Concept Videos
01:12First Pass Effect
9.7K
Presystemic elimination, or the first-pass effect, is the metabolism of drugs that reduces their effective concentration at the site of action. Apart from the first-pass effect, the systemic bioavailability of the drug is also reduced by other factors, including incomplete absorption or chemical degradation of drugs.
Depending on the route of administration, drugs can be metabolized in the liver, intestine, lungs, and vasculature. Orally administered drugs are first absorbed through the...
Depending on the route of administration, drugs can be metabolized in the liver, intestine, lungs, and vasculature. Orally administered drugs are first absorbed through the...
9.7K
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
15.3K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.3K
02:31Phase Transitions
23.3K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
23.3K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
20.4K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.4K
02:58Properties of Transition Metals
30.1K
Transition metals are defined as those elements that have partially filled d orbitals. As shown in Figure 1, the d-block elements in groups 3–12 are transition elements. The f-block elements, also called inner transition metals (the lanthanides and actinides), also meet this criterion because the d orbital is partially occupied before the f orbitals.
30.1K
01:19Vibrating Concrete
413
Mechanical vibrators are instrumental in compacting newly poured concrete within formwork and around reinforcements. This process is essential to eliminate trapped air pockets and establish a dense concrete mass. One widely used method is vibrating by internal vibrators, often referred to as a poker vibrator or immersion vibrator. It is rapidly inserted through the full depth of the freshly laid concrete and slightly extends into the layer below it (which remains in a plastic state). Consistent...
413