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    What Keeps Sandcastles Standing

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    elalamihind6
    This document summarizes a study that quantified how small amounts of liquid affect the properties of granular materials like sand. The researchers found that adding nanometer layers of liquid to millimeter-sized grains dramatically increased the angle at which sand piles remain stable (the repose angle). They also observed the formation of particle clusters that increased in size with more liquid. These findings help explain how small amounts of moisture can enable building intricate sandcastles that would collapse in dry sand. The results show that even thin films of interstitial liquid can significantly change many aspects of granular material behavior.

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    What Keeps Sandcastles Standing

    Uploaded by

    elalamihind6
    18 views2 pages
    This document summarizes a study that quantified how small amounts of liquid affect the properties of granular materials like sand. The researchers found that adding nanometer layers of liquid to millimeter-sized grains dramatically increased the angle at which sand piles remain stable (the repose angle). They also observed the formation of particle clusters that increased in size with more liquid. These findings help explain how small amounts of moisture can enable building intricate sandcastles that would collapse in dry sand. The results show that even thin films of interstitial liquid can significantly change many aspects of granular material behavior.

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    This document summarizes a study that quantified how small amounts of liquid affect the properties of granular materials like sand. The researchers found that adding nanometer layers of liquid to millimeter-sized grains dramatically increased the angle at which sand piles remain stable (the repose angle). They also observed the formation of particle clusters that increased in size with more liquid. These findings help explain how small amounts of moisture can enable building intricate sandcastles that would collapse in dry sand. The results show that even thin films of interstitial liquid can significantly change many aspects of granular material behavior.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    18 views2 pages

    What Keeps Sandcastles Standing

    Uploaded by

    elalamihind6
    This document summarizes a study that quantified how small amounts of liquid affect the properties of granular materials like sand. The researchers found that adding nanometer layers of liquid to millimeter-sized grains dramatically increased the angle at which sand piles remain stable (the repose angle). They also observed the formation of particle clusters that increased in size with more liquid. These findings help explain how small amounts of moisture can enable building intricate sandcastles that would collapse in dry sand. The results show that even thin films of interstitial liquid can significantly change many aspects of granular material behavior.

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    net/publication/242879469

    What Keeps Sandcastles Standing?

    Article in Nature · June 1997


    DOI: 10.1038/42831

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    5 authors, including:

    Ivander Albert Liestyo Albert-Laszlo Barabasi


    Binus University Northeastern University
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    scientific correspondence

    What keeps sandcastles standing?


    ny child playing on the beach knows
    A that the physical properties of wet and
    dry sand are very different. Wet sand can be
    used to build sharp-featured sandcastles
    that would be unstable in dry sand. We have
    now quantified the effect of adding small
    quantities of liquid to a granular medium.
    Nanometre-scale layers of liquid on milli-
    metre-scale grains dramatically increase the
    repose angle (the steepest stable slope that
    the substance can form) and allow the
    development of long-range correlations, or
    clumps.
    Moisture-induced changes in granular
    media are primarily caused by adhesive
    forces associated with interstitial liquid
    bridges between grains. Such effects are sig-
    nificant in industries as diverse as pharma-
    ceuticals, construction and agriculture. Figure 1a, The angle of repose (Q R) as a function of the average liquid-layer thickness on spheres (750 g
    Liquid-induced forces also affect experi- samples, sphere diameter 0.8 ± 0.2 mm). Draining apertures, d, are listed. Data have been corrected for
    mental studies of the physics of granular changes in relative humidity (40—50%) which had a small (~1°) effect on Q R. Experimental uncertainty is thus
    media1–4. Previous studies of moisture in roughy 1°. Solid curve, one-parameter theoretical fit. Deviation from the theoretical values for small aper-
    granular media have examined only rela- tures and large t liq, is due to clumping. b, The distribution width of measured Q R as a function of pump-oil
    tively large quantities of water added to layer thickness. Width corresponds to variations in roughness of the crater surface, which increases with
    highly irregular, porous or water-soluble cluster size, as seen with larger t liq.
    materials such as coal5,6, sugar7, seeds or
    rock chips8,9. The resulting data are difficult surface particles and hence QR. Taking into t liq (*40 nm) when the size of the clusters
    to analyse and do not aid understanding of account the observed surface roughness (~1 approached the aperture size.
    the physics of wetted granular media. mm) of the spheres, we calculated the inter- Small quantities of wetting liquid can
    We have studied the effects of the addi- particle adhesive force as a function of liq- thus dramatically change the properties of
    tion of small quantities of corn oil and uid content11. We then calculated the angle granular media, leading to a large increase
    vacuum-pump oil (which both have low of repose for the wet material using a in the repose angle, clustering and correla-
    vapour pressures) to spherical polystyrene method based on the stability of the surface tion in grain motion. Our results indicate
    beads, which are insoluble in these oils. We particles12. This model fits the data with a that interstitial liquids can alter many
    measured the angle of repose by the drain- single free parameter corresponding to the aspects of pattern formation, self-organiza-
    ing-crater method10, with varying draining volume of liquid in a typical bridge. The fit tion1–4 and segregation13 in granular materi-
    apertures and liquid content. Our maxi- indicates that the typical volume of a liquid als, potentially leading to new physical
    mum liquid content, (40 times less than the bridge is ~3210117 m3 for our maximum phenomena not encountered in dry matter.
    minimum moisture content of previous t liq, implying that 99.9% of the liquid does D. J. Hornbaker, R. Albert, I. Albert
    studies) corresponds to a liquid coating not contribute to the adhesive force, possi-
    SANDY FEET

    A.-L. Barabási, P. Schiffer


    thickness (t liq) of less than 50 nm on the bly because of the surface roughness. Department of Physics,
    spheres. We found an enormous increase of As liquid was added to the spheres, cor- University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame,
    the angle of repose (QR) with t liq (Fig. related particle clusters (clumps) formed, Indiana 46556, USA
    1a). One surprising feature is that QR the size of which increased with liquid con- e-mail: peter.schiffer.1@nd.edu
    seems to increase linearly with t liq up tent. The presence of such clusters leads to 1. Jaeger, H. M., Lui, C.-H. & Nagel, S. R. Phys. Rev. Lett. 62,
    to the point where clumping occurs. the appearance of an aperture dependence 40–43 (1989).
    2. Alanso, J. J. & Herrmann, H. J. Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4911–4914
    The results are independent of oil in QR for the largest values of t liq. The devel- (1996).
    type and aperture (except for the opment of clustering is also shown by 3. Umbanhowar, P. B., Melo, F. & Swinney, H. L. Nature 382,
    largest t liq), and QR at t liq40 increases in the width of the distribution of 793–796 (1996).
    agrees with previous mea- values of QR with increasing t liq (Fig. 1b). 4. Jaeger, H. M., Nagel, S. R. & Behringer, R. P. Rev. Mod. Phys. 68,
    1259–1273 (1996).
    surements by this The width corresponds to variations in the 5. Standish, N., Yu, A. B. & He, Q. L. Powder Technol. 68, 187–193
    method10. roughness of the crater surface (for t liq*20 (1991).
    In dry sand, nm the craters were noticeably asymmetri- 6. Wolf, E. F. & von Hohenleiten, H. L. Trans. Am. Soc. Mech. Eng.

    QR is determined cal whereas for smaller t liq the surfaces were 67, 585–599 (1945).
    7. Craik, D. J. & Miller, B. F. J. Pharm. Pharmaceut. 10, 136T–144T
    by the shape essentially conical with roughness equiva- (1958).
    of the grains lent to a few sphere diameters). 8. Fowler, R. T. & Wyatt, F. A. Aus. J. Chem. Eng. 1, 5–8 (1960).
    and by the The development of such clusters 9. Pilpel, N. Manufact. Chem. Aerosol News 41, 19–22 (1970).
    10. Brown, R. L. & Richards, J. C. Principles of Powder Mechanics
    friction forces. appears to be rather sudden, suggesting a (Pergamon, Oxford, 1970).
    In wet sand, transition from a situation where the bulk 11. Eremenko, V. N., Nadich, Yu. V. & Lavrimenko, I. A. Liquid-
    the attractive properties are associated with the dynamics Phase Sintering (Consultants Bureau, New York, 1970).
    12. Albert, R., Albert, I., Hornbaker, D. J., Schiffer, P & Barabási,
    forces due to of individual grains to a situation where
    A.-L. Phys. Rev. Lett. (submitted).
    interstitial liquid long-range correlations dominate. Our 13. Makse, H. A., Havlin, S., King, P. R. & Stanley, H. E. Nature 386,
    bridges increase the stability of the apparatus entirely failed to drain for larger 379–382 (1997).

    NATURE | VOL 387 | 19 JUNE 1997 765


    Nature © Macmillan Publishers Ltd 1997
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