Challenges and opportunities in measuring time-resolved force chain evolution in 3D granular materials

Abstract

Granular materials are found throughout nature and industry: in landslides, avalanches, and river beds, and also in pharmaceutics, food, and mineral processing. Many behaviors of these materials, including the ways in which they pack, deform, flow, and transmit energy, can be fully understood only in the context of inter-particle forces. However, we lack techniques for measuring 3D inter-particle force evolution at subsecond timescales due to technological limitations. Measurements of 3D force chain evolution at subsecond timescales would help validate and extend theories and models that explicitly or implicitly consider force chain dynamics in their predictions. Here, we discuss open challenges associated with force chain evolution on these timescales, challenges limiting such measurements, and possible routes for overcoming these challenges in the coming decade.