Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 014302 (2001) [4 pages]Shocks in Supersonic SandReceived 19 April 2001; published 17 December 2001 We measure time-averaged velocity, density, and temperature fields for steady granular flow past a wedge. We find the flow to be supersonic with a speed of granular pressure disturbances (sound speed) equal to about 10% of the flow speed, and we observe shocks nearly identical to those in a supersonic gas. Molecular dynamics simulations of Newton’s laws yield fields in quantitative agreement with experiment. A numerical solution of Navier-Stokes–like equations agrees with a molecular dynamics simulation for experimental conditions excluding wall friction. © 2002 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.014302
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.014302
PACS:
45.70.-n, 02.70.Ns, 47.40.Ki, 51.10.+y
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