Vertical motion of particles in vibration-induced granular capillarity

Abstract

When a narrow tube inserted into a static container filled with particles is subjected to vertical vibration, the particles rise in the tube, much resembling the ascending motion of a liquid column in a capillary tube. To gain insights on the particle dynamics dictating this phenomenon – which we term granular capillarity – we numerically investigate the system using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). We reproduce the dynamical process of the granular capillarity and analyze the vertical motion of the individual particles in the tube, as well as the average vertical velocities of the particles. Our simulations show that the height of the granular column fluctuates in a periodic or period-doubling manner as the tube vibrates, until a steady-state (capillary) height is reached. Moreover, our results for the average vertical velocity of the particles in the tube at different radial positions suggest that granular convection is one major factor underlying the particle-based dynamics that lead to the granular capillarity phenomenon.