Invited review: Effect of temperature on a granular pile

Abstract

As a fragile construction, a granular pile is very sensitive to minute external perturbations. In particular, it is now well established that a granular assembly is sensitive to variations of temperature. Such variations can produce localized rearrangements as well as global static avalanches inside a pile. In this review, we sum up the various observations that have been made concerning the effect of temperature on a granular assembly. In particular, we dwell on the way controlled variations of temperature have been employed to generate the compaction of a granular pile. After laying emphasis on the key features of this compaction process, we compare it to the classic vibration-induced compaction. Finally, we also review other granular systems in a large sense, from microscopic (jammed multilamellar vesicles) to macroscopic scales (stone heave phenomenon linked to freezing and thawing of soils) for which periodic variations of temperature could play a key role in the dynamics at stake.

16 pages, 14 figures, Commentary from the reviewer available in Papers in Physics