Eur. Phys. J. E 6, 295-303 (2001)

A model of binary assemblies of spheres

P. Richard¹, L. Oger¹, J.P. Troadec¹ and A. Gervois<sup>2

1</sup>  Groupe Matière Condensée et Matériaux, UMR CNRS 6626, Université de Rennes1, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France
²  Service de Physique Théorique, DSM, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

luc.oger@univ-rennes1.fr

(Received 19 February 2001 and Received in final form 27 June 2001)

Abstract
We propose a theoretical model of random binary assemblies of spheres at any packing fraction. We use the notion of geometrical neighborhood between grains that is defined through two generalizations of the Voronoï tessellation: the radical (or Laguerre) tessellation and the navigation map. The model is tested on different numerical packings. We find a weak local segregation for high packing fraction. We also find that the higher the size ratio of the particles, the more important the segregation.

PACS
61.43.Bn - Structural modeling: serial-addition models, computer simulation.
81.05.Rm - Porous materials; granular materials.
61.20.Ja - Computer simulation of liquid structure.


© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2001