Characterization of force networks in a dense high-shear system

Abstract

We detect strong force networks in a dense high-shear system and study their structure and stability in response to variations in the shearing rate. The presence of strong force networks, which usually have a heterogeneous structure, restricts particle movements and can impose non-local mechanisms of momentum transfer. We identify such networks in a dense high-shear system using a community detection algorithm. Moreover, we explain the association between the mechanisms of momentum transfer and the structure, population, strength, and stability of the force networks by tracking the spatial and temporal evolution of the detected networks. In addition, we show that the assumption of a monodisperse assembly of particles leads to an unrealistic enlargement of the force networks, underestimating both the rate of energy dissipation and the rate of mixing.