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Research in granular matter has covered packing problems of spheres extensively, but interest in non-spherical particles (ellipsoids, polyhedra) has risen only last year [1], resulting in a race for the densest tetrahedral packing [2].
Our poster presents the first results on experimentally generated packings of tetrahedral particles, which are prepared by tapping/shaking. The dynamics of the compaction process and the range of mechanically stable packings from the random loose to the random close packing are explored. We use X-Ray-tomography and standard image processing techniques to analyse the samples and present results on their structure. [1] Torquato, S. , Jiao, Y. Dense packings of the Platonic and Archimedean solids, Nature 460 (2009) [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/science/05tetr.html |
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