Granular Media Between Fluid and Solid

Sand, rice, sugar, snow, cement... Although ubiquitous in our daily lives, granular media still challenge engineers and fascinate researchers. This book provides the state-of-the-art of the physics of granular media and recent advances in the field. The book presents the fundamental properties of granular materials: interactions between grains; solid, liquid and gaseous behaviours; coupling with a fluid; and sediment transport and formation of geological structures. Descriptions of the phenomena combine qualitative and formal arguments, coming from areas as diverse as elasticity, plasticity, statistical physics, fluid mechanics and geomorphology. Many examples of the astonishing behaviours of granular media are presented, including avalanches, segregation, dune song and quicksand. This book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in physics, applied mathematics and engineering.

Foreword; 1. Introduction; 2. Interactions at the grain level; 3. The granular solid: statics and elasticity; 4. The granular solid: plasticity; 5. Granular gases; 6. The granular liquid; 7. Immersed granular media; 8. Erosion and sediment transport; 9. Geomorphology; References; Index.

Bruno Andreotti is a Professor at Paris Diderot University and performs his research at ESPCI, PMMH Laboratory, France. His primary research concerns hydrodynamics, wetting and geomorphodynamics.
Yoël Forterre is Director of Research at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and performs his research at Aix-Marseille University, IUSTI Laboratory, France. His primary research concerns granular media, complex fluids and plant biomechanics.
Olivier Pouliquen is Director of Research at CNRS and performs his research at Aix-Marseille University, IUSTI Laboratory, France. His primary research concerns granular media, dense suspensions and complex fluids.