Scale separation in granular packings: stress plateaus and fluctuations

Abstract

It is demonstrated, by numerical simulations of a 2D assembly of polydisperse disks, that there exists a range (plateau) of coarse-graining scales for which the stress tensor field in a granular solid is nearly resolution independent, thereby enabling an "objective" definition of this field. Expectedly, it is not the mere size of the system but the (related) magnitudes of the gradients that determine the widths of the plateaus. Ensemble averaging (even over "small" ensembles) extends the widths of the plateaus to subparticle scales. The fluctuations within the ensemble are studied as well. Both the response to homogeneous forcing and to an external compressive localized load (and gravity) are studied. Implications to small solid systems and constitutive relations are briefly discussed.