CHAOS VOLUME 9, NUMBER 3 SEPTEMBER 1999

Compactivity and transmission of stress in granular materials

S. F. Edwards and D. V. Grinev
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHE, United Kingdom
共Received 16 February 1999; accepted for publication 7 July 1999兲
We outline a statistical-mechanical theory of granular materials. Stress propagation and force
fluctuations in static granular media are still poorly understood. We develop the
statistical-mechanical theory that delivers the fundamental equations of stress equilibrium. The
formalism is based on the assumptions that grains are rigid, cohesionless, and that friction is perfect.
Since grains are assumed perfectly rigid, no strain or displacement field can enter the equations for
static equilibrium of the stress field. The complete system of equations for the stress tensor is
derived from the equations of intergranular force and torque balance, given the geometric
specification of the material. These new constitutive equations are indeed fundamental and are based
on relations between various components of the stress tensor within the material, and depend on the
topology of the granular packing. The problem of incorporating into the formalism the ‘‘no tensile
forces’’ constraint is considered. The compactivity concept is reviewed. We discuss the relation
between the concept of compactivity and the problem of stress transmission. © 1999 American
Institute of Physics. 关S1054-1500共99兲03103-2兴

In recent years there has been an upsurge in interest in
granular materials as a topic in physics.1–5 The interest
as a physics topic stems from its position as a culmination
of studies of mechanics which start with conservative dy-
namics and its attendant statistical mechanics, through
problems such as fluid mechanics and viscoelasticity with
their attendant Smoluchowski and Langevin equations,
reaching powders and soils where processes are domi-
nated by friction, are irreversible, and have possesion of
vital memories. Why look at the statistical mechanics of
granular materials? There is a common need to deter-
mine properties of such a system on a macroscopic scale,
from an initial description of the system on a relatively
small „of order of a grain size… but finite scale. A theoret-
ical understanding of granular materials is of great im-
portance, since the range of regimes of behavior, and pos-
sible types of particles, is too large to explore empirically.
The compactivity concept has been invented6 in order to
describe the bulk properties of static granular aggregates
within the framework of statistical mechanics. Compac-
tivity can be interpreted as being characteristic of the
number of ways it is possible to arrange the grains in the
packing into a volume ⌬V such that the disorder is ⌬S.
Consequently, the two limits of compactivity are 0 and ⴥ,
which correspond to the most and least compact arrange-
ments, respectively. The random geometry of a static
granular packing can be visualized as a network of inter-
granular contacts. For any aggregate of rigid particles
the transmission of stress from one point to another can
occur only via the intergranular contacts. Therefore, the
contact network determines the network of intergranular
forces. In general, the contact network can have a coor-
dination number varying within the system and different
for every particular packing. It follows then that the net-
work of intergranular forces is indeterminate, i.e., the
number of unknown forces is larger than the number of
Newton’s equations of mechanical equilibrium. Thus, in
order for the network of intergranular forces to be per-
fectly defined, the number of equations must equal the
number of unknowns. This can be achieved by choosing
the contact network with a certain fixed coordination
number. In this case the system of equations for inter-
granular forces has a unique solution and the complete
system of equations for the stress tensor can be derived.
The inability of an intergranular contact to support ten-
sile forces gives an additional constraint on the geometry
of contact network that can be incorporated into the
compactivity formalism.
I. INTRODUCTION
Despite their seeming simplicity, granular media present
a fascinating array of challenging problems,1–5 and are the
key to a number of important technologies.7–9 In this paper
we consider aggregates of rigid cohesionless grains with per-
fect friction. A typical granular packing is a system with a
large number of individual particles. Grains interact with
each other via contact forces which are determined by fric-
tion, gravitational loading, and amplitude of an exernal force
applied to the system. Clearly we have a classical many-
body problem and it is tempting to invoke the fundamental
ideas of statistical mechanics in order to derive equations
governing the behavior of granular materials. It is important
to have a formalism that would allow one to calculate mac-
roscopic averages in terms of microscopic 共i.e., of individual
grains or their clusters兲 properties of the system. From a
mathematical point of view, the development of such a
theory is extremely difficult as it should incorporate a math-
ematical description of random geometry of granular pack-
ings. The mathematics should also have a reliable averaging

1054-1500/99/9(3)/551/8/$15.00 551 © 1999 American Institute of Physics

Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
552 Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999
FIG. 1. Detail of two grain contact.
procedure as the final answer we aim to find involves the
macroscopic and measurable quantities, e.g., density of the
system ␳ (r) or its stress tensor ␴ i j (r).
In the present paper we consider static packings of rigid
grains. In our opinion it is the starting point for developing a
physical theory of stress transmission in such systems. Let us
consider a stable granular array. What are the physical quan-
tities that describe this object? Apparently the basic ones are
the packing fraction and the macroscopic stress tensor. It is
obvious that these two are related because the stress within
the material depends on the geometry of the packing. In this
paper we will try to establish a mathematical approach which
relates the microscopic stress to the tensors that describe the
geometry of the system. We speculate that the macroscopic
stress has a concomitant macroscopic quantity X that charac-
terizes the packing. This quantity is called compactivity and
we briefly review the concept in Sec. III.
II. TRANSMISSION OF STRESS
One of the most important problems in mechanics of
granular media is the development of continuum constitutive
equations. In the context of continuum mechanics, the term
constitutive equation or constitutive relation means a relation
between stress and strain. Since the number of the compo-
nents of the macroscopic stress tensor is greater than the
number of equations of mechanical equilibrium, the problem
is statically indeterminate. Constitutive relations are intro-
duced in order to close the system of governing conservation
equations. A common way of dealing with this problem is to
consider deformable or soft grains and introduce the stress–
strain relation 共e.g., Hertz’s兲. If the material is constructed of
rigid or hard particles, then all strains of such a medium are
merely a consequence of mutual displacements of grains.
The difficulty is that we lack the fundamental constitutive
equations; those that exist are often limited or
unreliable.10–12 We model the granular material as an assem-
bly of discrete rigid particles whose interactions with their
neighbors are localized at pointlike contacts. Therefore the
description of the network of intergranular contacts is essen-
tial for the understanding of force transmission in granular
assemblies. Figure 1 shows the quantities involved when
static equilibrium is set up in a granular array. We will need
z contact points vectors R␣␤ , centroid of a grain ␣ R␣ , r␣␤
Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
S. F. Edwards and D. V. Grinev
the vector from R␣ to R␣␤ , and the distance between grains
R␣␤ ␣ and ␤ . Grain ␣ exerts a force on grain ␤ at a point
R␣␤ ⫽R␣ ⫹r␣␤ . The contact is a point in a plane whose
normal is n␣␤ . The vector R␣ is defined by 共see Fig. 1兲
兺 ␤ R␣␤
R␣ ⫽ , 共1兲
z
so that R␣ is the centroid of contacts, and hence
兺␤ r␣␤ ⫽0, R␣␤ ⫽r␤␣ ⫺r␣␤ , 共2兲
where z is the number of contacts per grain and 兺 ␤ means
summation over the nearest neighbors. Hence R␣ , r␣␤ , and
n␣␤ are geometrical properties of the aggregate under con-
sideration and the other shape specifications do not enter.
Friction is assumed to be infinite and the geometry is
frozen after the deposition and cannot be changed by apply-
ing or removing an external force on the boundaries. In a
static array Newton’s equations of intergranular force and
torque balance are satisfied. Balance of force around the
grain requires
兺␤
f ␣␤ ␣
i ⫽g i , 共3兲
f ␣␤ ␤␣
i ⫹ f i ⫽0, 共4兲
where g␣ is the external force acting on grain ␣ . Further on
in this section g is used also for the external forces at the
boundaries.
The equation of torque balance is
兺␤ ⑀ ikl f ␣␤ ␣␤ ␣
k r l ⫽C i . 共5兲
The centroid of the contact points need not coincide with
the centroid of the forces, e.g., the center of mass of a solid
grain, but we will assume it is so in order to keep the analy-
sis simple so that we ensure that the macroscopic stress ten-
sor is symmetric, at least on average. It can be verified that,
for the intergranular forces in the static array to be deter-
mined by these equations, the coordination number z⫽3 in
two dimensions 共2D兲 and z⫽4 in three dimensions 共3D兲 is
required. The microscopic version of stress analysis is to
determine all of the intergranular forces, given the applied
force, torque loadings on each grain, and geometric specifi-
cation of a granular array. The number of unknowns per
grain is zd/2. Required force and torque equations give d
⫹ d(d⫺1)/2 constraints. The system of equations for the
intergranular forces is complete when the coordination num-
ber is z m ⫽d⫹1. Theory which confirms this observation has
been proposed for periodic arrays of grains with zero
friction.13 It is clear that the coordination number z controls
the connectivity of granular media. We will assume that z is
indeed 3 in 2D, for this is surely the simplest situation, and
one which is physically possible. The goal, however, is to
determine the macroscopic stress tensor at every point of a
granular array, given external loadings and geometric speci-
fication. The macroscopic state of stress is a function of the
distribution of contact forces. For any aggregate of discrete
Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999 Stress in granular materials 553

grains subjected to external loading, the transmission of
stress from one point to another can only occur via the inter-
granular contacts. Therefore it is clear that the network of
contacts determines the distribution of stresses within the
one missing equation, and we derive it in terms of the geom-
etry of the system below. Given the set of Eqs. 共3兲–共5兲 we
can write the probability functional for the integranular force
f ␣␤
i j as

冉兺 冊 冉兺 冊
granular array. The network of contacts is determined by the
deposition history of the sample and the external loading on P 兵 f ␣␤
i 其 ⫽N␦ f i␣␤ ⫺g i␣ ␦ ⑀ ikl f ␣␤ ␣␤
k rl
the boundaries. We define the tensorial force moment: ␤ ␤

⫻ ␦ 共 f i␣␤ ⫹ f ␤␣
i 兲, 共11兲
S ␣i j ⫽ 兺␤ f ␣␤ ␣␤
i rj , 共6兲
where the normalization, N, which is a function of a con-
which is the microscopic analogue of the stress tensor. With figuration, is
C i␣ ⫽0, S ␣i j will be symmetric.
Our goal is to find a complete system of equations for
the macroscopic stress tensor ␴ i j , which is supported by the
N ⫺1 ⫽ 冕兿 ␣,␤
P 兵 f ␣␤
i 其 Df
␣␤
. 共12兲

given network of contacts in the state of mechanical equilib- The probability of finding the tensorial force moment S ␣i j
rium. Given an assembly of discrete grains which is repre- on grain ␣ is

冕 兿 ␦冉 冊
sented by a very complex network of contacts, we associate
a continuous medium to have continuously distributed prop-
erties. Such spatial smoothing or coarse graining can be ac-
P 兵 S ␣i j 其 ⫽M
␣,␤
S ␣i j ⫺ 兺␤ f i␣␤ r ␣␤
j P 兵 f ␣␤
i 其 Df
␣␤
,

complished formally. To obtain the macroscopic stress ten- 共13兲

␣␤
sor from the tensorial force moment to the macroscopic where 兰 Df implies integration over all functions f ␣␤ ,
stress tensor we coarse grain or average it over an ensemble since all the constraints on f ␣␤ have been experienced. We
of configurations: assume that the z⫽d⫹1 condition means that the integral

␴ i j 共 r兲 ⫽ 冓兺N

␣ ⫽1
冔
S ␣i j ␦ 共 r⫺R␣ 兲 . 共7兲
exists. The algebra that follows, aims to transform Eq. 共13兲
into

In the simplest cases of isotropic and homogeneous ar- P 兵 S ␣i j 其 ⫽ 兿

␣,␤
␦ 共 K ␣␤ ␤ ␣ ␣␤ ␤
i jk S jk ⫹g i 兲 ␦ 共 P i jk S jk 兲 , 共14兲
rays this is not a problem. The difficulties appear when the
array under consideration is anisotropic or inhomogeneous. where the delta functions give the complete system of equa-
Within the confines of this paper we explore only the sim- tions for all S ␣i j . The normalization, M, which is a function
plest cases. Let us give a simple illustration of our theory. of a configuration, is given by

冕 兿 ␦冉 冊
Suppose that there exists a granular packing for which we
can ‘‘invert’’ Nd(d⫹1)/2 Eqs. 共6兲 and write M ⫺1 ⫽
␣,␤
S ␣i j ⫺ 兺␤ f i␣␤ r ␣␤
j P 兵 f ␣␤
i 其 Df
␣␤
DS ␣i j .
f ␣␤ ␤␣ ␣
i ⫽A ikl S kl . 共8兲 共15兲
After invoking Newton’s third law 共4兲 and Eqs. 共3兲 and 共5兲 We exponentiate the delta functions and thus introduce
one obtains a complete system of equations for tensorial the set of conjugate fields ␨ ␣i j , ␥ ␣i , ␭ i␣ , and ␩ ␣␤
i ,
force moments S ␣i j ,

兺␤ ␣␤ ␤
A ikl S kl ⫹g i␣ ⫽0 共9兲
P 兵 S ␣i j 其 ⫽ 冕兿 e iA Df ␣␤ D␨ ␣ D␥ ␣ D␭ ␣ D␩ ␣␤ , 共16兲

where A is

冉 冊 冉兺 冊
and
A⫽ 兺␣ ␨ ␣i j S ␣i j ⫺ 兺␤ f ␣␤ ␣␤
i rj ⫹ ␥ ␣i f ␣␤ ␣
i ⫺g i
兺␤ ⑀ i jk A ␣␤ ␤ ␣␤
jlm S lm r k ⫽0. 共10兲 ␤

There are two ways to deal with these discrete equations.

The first one is to average them and obtain continuous equa-
⫹␭ i␣ 冉兺 ␤
⑀ ikl f k␣␤ r ␣␤
l 冊
⫹ ␩ ␣␤ ␣␤ ␤␣
i 共 f i ⫹ f i 兲. 共17兲

tions for the macroscopic stress tensor. The second way is to
solve them and then average solution. The number of mac-
roscopic equations required equals the number of indepen-
dent components of a symmetric stress tensor ␴ i j ⫽ ␴ ji and is
d(d⫹1)/2. At the same time, the number of equations avail-
able is d. These are vector equations of the stress equilibrium
⳵␴ i j / ⳵ x j ⫽g i which have their origin in Newton’s second
law. Therefore we have to find d(d⫺1)/2 equations, which
possess the information from Newton’s third law, to com-
plete and solve the system of equations which governs the
transmission of stress in a granular array. Thus in 2D there is
The ␭ ␣ field term gives the symmetry of S ␣i j . After integrat-
ing out the f ␣␤ and ␩ ␣␤ fields we find the following linear
equation for the conjugate fields:
␨ ␣i j r ␣␤ ␣ ␤ ␤␣ ␤
j ⫺ ␥ i ⫽ ␨ ik r k ⫺ ␥ i . 共18兲
The idea of the conjugate fields method is to use these
equations for the ␨ field in the stress probability functional,
in order to derive the complete system of equations for the
stress tensor. The general solution of Eq. 共18兲 is a sum of the
␨ 0 field which is the particular solution and depends on ␥ ,
and ␨ * which is the complimentary function

Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
554 Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999 S. F. Edwards and D. V. Grinev

␨ ␣i j ⫽ ␨ ␣i j0 ⫹ ␨ ␣i j* .

If we introduce the fabric tensor F ␣i j and its inverse

共19兲

M ␣i j :
冕 exp i 冉兺 ␣ ⫽1
N

␨ ␣i j* (S ␣i j ⫺ ␾ ␣ F ␣i j ⫺ ␺ ␣ G ␣i j ) 冊
N

F ␣i j ⫽ 兺␤ R ␣␤ ␣␤
i Rj , M ␣i j ⫽ 共 F ␣ 兲 ⫺1
ij , 共20兲 ⫻ 兿␣ D␨ ␣i j* D␾ ␣ D␺ ␣ , 共28兲

where F ␣i j is given by 共20兲 and

we can rewrite Eq. 共18兲 in the following form:

␨ ␣i j ⫽M ␣jl 兺␤ R ␣␤ ␣ ␤ ␣
l 共 ␥ i ⫺ ␥ i 兲 ⫹M jl 兺␤ R ␣␤ ␤␣ ␤ ␣
l r k 共 ␨ ik ⫺ ␨ ik 兲 .
G ␣i j ⫽
1
2 冉兺 ␤
Q ␣␤ ␣␤ ␣␤ ␣␤
i R j ⫹Q j R i . 冊 共29兲

共21兲 We would like to note that the system under consideration is

disordered and therefore Q␣ ⫽0 共whereas for a honeycomb
The next step is to integrate out the ␥ field which gives periodic array Q␣ ⫽0). After integrating out the ␨ ␣ * , ␾ ␣ ,
us the stress-force equation: and ␺ ␣ fields, we find the following equation for S ␣i j :

冏 冏
␣ ␣ ␣
S 11 F 11 G 11
兺␤ M ␣jl R l␣␤ S ␣i j ⫺ 兺␤ M ␤jl R l␤␣ S ␤i j ⫽g ␣i . 共22兲
S ␣12 ␣ ␣
F 12 G 12 ⫽0. 共30兲
␣ ␣ ␣
By expanding ␤ quantities about ␣ quantities we reach: S 22 F 22 G 22

ⵜ j ␴ i j ⫹ⵜ j ⵜ k ⵜ m K i jkl ␴ lm ⫹ . . . ⫽g i , 共23兲 Note that although there are explicit forms generalizing 共30兲
in 3D, these are more complex algebraically as a conse-
where K i jkl ⫽ 具 R ␣␤ ␣␤ ␣␤ ␣␤
i R j R k R l 典 and gives a correction to the
quence of the higher coordination number.
standard equation of stress equilibrium ⵜ j ␴ i j ⫽g i at the We have derived the fundamental equations of stress
length scale which is small compared to the size of the sys- equilibrium:
tem. These corrections correspond to the presence of the sec- ⵜ j ␴ i j ⫹ⵜ j ⵜ k ⵜ m K i jkl ␴ lm ⫹¯⫽g i , 共31兲
ond, third, etc., nearest neighbors and topological correla-
tions and must vanish in the k→0 limit. Throughout this P i jk ␴ jk ⫹ⵜ j T i jkl ␴ kl ⫹ⵜ j ⵜ l U i jkl ␴ km ⫹¯⫽0. 共32兲
section we assumed that the granular aggregate under con-
In order to solve Eqs. 共31兲 and 共32兲 one needs to know the
sideration is homogeneous and put the average density ␳ (r)
geometric quantities P i jk , T ikl , and U i jkl . In practice details
⫽1. So far the well-known equations have been derived by
of the distribution of intergranular contacts are not known in
using the information from Newton’s second law. But we
advance, but should be obtained from the deposition history
still have unused information from Newton’s third law. By
of the system or experimental measurements of two-body
integrating out the ␨ * field we obtain the missing equations
correlation functions. The simplest array will have Q␣␤ or-
we are looking for.
thogonal to R␣ , i.e., if R␣␤ ⫽(X ␣␤ ,Y ␣␤ ), then Q␣␤ ⫽(Y ␣␤ ,
We show the explicit analysis in the simplest cases. We
⫺X ␣␤ ). It follows, that F ␣i j and G ␣i j can be written as
start with

P 兵 S ␣i j 其 ⫽ 冕 exp i 冉兺 N

␣ ⫽1
␨ ␣i j* S ␣i j 冊 F ␣i j ⫽ 冉 冊
1
0
0
1
, G ␣i j ⫽ 冉 sin ␪ ␣
cos ␪ ␣
cos ␪ ␣
⫺sin ␪ ␣
冊 . 共33兲

The leading terms of the system of equations 共31兲 and 共32兲

arise from the system of discrete linear equations for S ␣i j
N

⫻ ␦ 共 ␨ ␣i j* r ␣␤ ␤ ␤␣
j ⫺ ␨ i j* r j 兲 兿
␣ ⫽1
D␨ ␣i j* , 共24兲 which can be rewritten in the following form:

wherein ␨ * must satisfy 兺␤ S ␣i j M ␣jk R k␣␤ ⫺S ␤i j M ␤jk R k␤␣ ⫽g ␣i , 共34兲

␨ ␣i j* r ␣␤ ␤ ␤␣
j ⫺ ␨ i j* r j ⫽0. 共25兲 ␣ ␣ ␣
S 11 ⫺S 22 ⫽2S 12 tan ␪ ␣ . 共35兲
␣␤ ␣␤ ␣␤ ␤␣
Using R and Q ⫽r ⫹r , we can ‘‘project’’ this vec- For a homogeneous and isotropic packing Eq. 共35兲 gives
tor equation into two scalar equations: the microscopic stress tensor S ␣i j ⫽ p ␣ ␦ i j , which is simply
hydrostatic pressure, as is to be expected. Rotating S ␣i j by
␨ ␣i j* 兺␤ R ␣␤
i R j ⫹ 兺 共 ␨ i j* ⫺ ␨ i j* 兲 r j R i ⫽0,
␣␤
␤
␣ ␤ ␤␣ ␣␤
共26兲 some arbitrary angle ␪ ␣ .
At this point it is tempting to average Eq. 共35兲. However,
in this problem, the averaging procedure is very subtle. If
␨ ␣i j* 兺␤ Q i␣␤ R ␣␤
j ⫹ 兺 共 ␨ i j* ⫺ ␨ i j* 兲 r j Q i ⫽0,
␤
␣ ␤ ␤␣ ␣␤
共27兲 one tries to do a mean-field approximation and replace every
quantity by its average over the first coordination shell 关i.e.,
S ␣i j with ␴ i j (r)⫽ 1/(z⫹1) 兺 first coord shellS ␣i j ␦ (r⫺R␣ )] real
and assuming as before that ␨ ␣i j* ⫺ ␨ ␤i j* gives rise to gradient
difficulties arise. We have:
terms we can exponentiate 共26兲 and 共27兲 by parametric vari-
ables ␾ ␣ and ␺ ␣ : 具 A 典 ␴ 11⫹ 具 B 典 ␴ 22⫹ 具 C 典 ␴ 12⫽0 共36兲

Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999
as the mean field stress-geometry equation. The term ‘‘mean-
field’’ here refers to the fact that all correlations between the
vectors r␣␤ due to the presence of steric constraints are ne-
glected. Finally we obtain
␴ 11⫽ ␴ 22 .
Equation 共31兲 is delivered by the simplest mean-field
approximation for the case of an isotropic and homogeneous
disordered array. Though Eq. 共37兲 provides us with the diag-
onal stress tensor ␴ i j ⫽p ␦ i j as the solution of the complete
system of equations, it is not rotationally invariant. The only
linear, algebraic, and rotationally invariant equation is
Tr ␴ i j ⫽0. However, this equation cannot be accepted, for a
stable granular aggregate does not support tensile stresses.
We believe that, at least in the simplest case, the fundamen-
tal equation for the microscopic stress tensor should be linear
and algebraic 共because of the linearity of Newton’s second
law for intergranular forces兲. However, if the system is
strongly anisotropic 共i.e. there exists a preferred direction
characterized by some angle ␾ ) and tan ␪ ␣ has an average
value tan ␾ , then Eq. 共35兲 becomes in the mean-field ap-
proximation
␴ 11⫺ ␴ 22⫽2 ␴ 12 tan ␾ ,
where ␾ is the angle of repose. It is known as the fixed
principal axes equation,14–17 and has been used with notable
effect to solve the problem of the stress distribution in sand-
piles. It is possible to give a probabilistic interpretation of
␣
Eq. 共35兲. Thus if we are given S 12 , the probability of finding
␣ ␣
S 11⫺S 22 is
␣ granular materials are thought to be quasistatic or
2 兩 S 12 兩
␣
P 兵 S 11 ␣
⫺S 22 ␣
兩 S 12其⫽ . 共39兲
␲ 共 S 11⫺S 22兲 ⫹ 共 S 12
␣ ␣ 2 ␣ 2
兲 types of infinitesimal changes in stress without configura-
Mathematically it is more convenient to introduce ( ␰ ␣ ) 2
␣ ␣ 2 ␣ 2
⫽(S 11 ⫺S 22 ) ⫹(S 12 ) and determine the probability of find-
␣ ␣
ing S 11⫺S 22 given ␰ ␣ ,
␣ ␣
1 1
P 兵 S 11 ⫺S 22兩 ␰ ␣其 ⫽
2␲ 冑共 ␰ ␣ 2
兲 ␣
⫺ 共 S 11 ⫺S ␣22兲 2
␣ ␣ ␣
The mean values of S 11 ⫺S 22 and S 12 are zero, hence we
predict, rather obviously, hydrostatic pressure. However, no-
tice that we are able to predict the fluctuations away from
hydrostatic pressure, and would do more on correlations if
one could find a pathway to measure them. Another ap-
proach to deal with the system of discrete equations 共34兲 and
共35兲 is to solve it for S ␣i j , and then average the solution. This
way seems to be feasible at least for the simplest granular
systems 共e.g., isotropic or periodic arrays兲 and may provide
deep insight into the origins of the non-Gaussian statistics of
stress fluctuations.18 In complex cases this can be accom-
plished in some approximation, or by using computer simu-
lations. By applying Fourier transformation to 共34兲 and 共35兲
one can obtain S i j (k). The macroscopic stress tensor is ob-
tained by averaging over the distribution of angles ␪ ␣ ,
g 1 共 k 31 ⫹3k 22 k 1 兲 ⫹g 2 共 k 32 ⫺k 21 k 2 兲
i ␴ 11共 k兲 ⫽ 具 S 11共 k兲 典 ␪ ⫽
兩 k兩 4
Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
Stress in granular materials 555
g 2 共 k 32 ⫹3k 21 k 2 兲 ⫹g 1 共 k 1 k 22 ⫺k 31 兲
i ␴ 22共 k兲 ⫽ 具 S 22共 k兲 典 ␪ ⫽ ,
兩 k兩 4
共42兲
共37兲 共 g 1 k 2 ⫺g 2 k 1 兲共 k 22 ⫺k 21 兲
i ␴ 12共 k兲 ⫽ 具 S 12共 k兲 典 ␪ ⫽ , 共43兲
兩 k兩 4
where 兩 k兩 2 ⫽k 21 ⫹k 22 and ␴ i j (r)⫽ 兰 ␴ i j (k)e ikrd 3 k. By doing
the inverse Fourier transformation one can see that the mac-
roscopic stress tensor is diagonal. There must also be con-
straints on the permitted configurations 共due to the absence
of tensile forces兲 which are not so easily expressed, for they
affect each grain in the form
S ␣ik M ␣kl R ␣␤ ␣␤
l n i ⬎0, 共44兲
which has not yet been put into continuum equations other
than Det ␴ ⬎0 and Tr ␴ ⬎0. Equation 共44兲 is derived by add-
ing the inequality f␣␤ •n␣␤ ⬎0 into Eq. 共13兲, exponentiating
the theta function and integrating out the intergranular force.
In practice, detail of intergranular contacts is not known
in advance, but should be deduced from the deposition his-
tory of the system. Truly history dependent problems are
共38兲 outside the scope of this paper, but for granular systems
which have consolidated or sheared under the applied load-
ing, and for pseudoelastic assemblies which have undergone
significant deformation and rearrangement under stress, we
can consider the approximation that the current stress itself
influences the contact geometry. Another important issue
which is not addressed here is that of a response of a granular
aggregate to external perturbations. In general, cohesionless
‘‘fragile,’’19 which means that they cannot support certain
tional rearrangements.
III. COMPACTIVITY
Let us consider a static granular array described in Sec.
. 共40兲
II. Mathematical description of the geometry of this system
is a difficult problem with a long history of study. It is pos-
sible, in principle, to describe a given packing in terms of
positional coordinates, i.e., a set of vectors that define posi-
tions of the center of mass of every individual particle and
points of contact. Given the shape of particles and the depo-
sition history of the sample one can determine its volume
and packing fraction. The structure of a packing can be di-
vided into local structures in a number of different ways,
e.g., using Voronoi tesselations or Bernal polyhedra. We in-
troduce the volume function W which will depend on the
coordinates of the grains and their orientations and is the
analog of a Hamiltonian. We denote it as W⫽W 兵 R␣␤ 其
where 兵 R␣␤ 其 is the set of contact point vectors. This con-
venient notation means that the volume function is written in
terms of these vectors. Is it reasonable to assume that all
microscopic configurations of a given volume are equally
probable? In many cases the mechanism of deposition will
leave a history in the configuration but this will not be con-
,
sidered here. Averaging over all the possible microscopic
共41兲 configurations of the grains in the space of parameters 共that
556 Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999
describe their orientations and positions with respect to each
other兲 gives us a configurational statistical ensemble. Since
we are assuming that we are dealing with a system whose
constituents are hard 共i.e., impenetrable兲 we have to include
some account of this in our formalism in order to reduce the
number of possible configurations the system may occupy.
Also for a packing which is stable under applied force we
must consider the configurations restricting the number of
possible volume states that the system may occupy to be
only those configurations which are stable 共i.e., the inter-
granular forces satisfy Newton’s equations and tensile forces
are absent兲. Also grains cannot overlap and this condition
produces very strong constraints 共frustration兲 on their rela-
tive positions. Of course in the real powder the topological
defects can exist such as vacancies, voids, or arches. They
will not be considered in the paper. Given all these argu-
ments the ‘‘microcanonical’’ probability distribution can be
written:
P⫽e ⫺ S/␭ ␦ 共 V⫺W 兲 . 共45兲
The normalization gives
e S/␭ ⫽ 冕␦ 共 V⫺W 兲 兵 DR␣␤ 其 , 共46兲
where 兵 DR␣␤ 其 means the integration over all degrees of
freedom of the volume function W. One can see that the
phase space of thermal statistical mechanics is replaced with
the configurational space. In conventional statistical mechan-
ics the microcanonical distribution is
⫺ S/k
P⫽e ␦ 共 E⫺H 兲 , 共47兲
Temperature is defined as
⳵E
T⫽ . 共48兲
⳵S
For static granular media we can define the analog of
temperature:
⳵V
X⫽ . 共49兲
⳵S
This fundamental parameter is called compactivity.6,20 It
gives the information about the packing of a granular mate-
rial and may be interpreted as being characteristic of the
number of ways it is possible to arrange the grains in the
system into volume ⌬V such that the disorder is ⌬S. Con-
sequently the two limits of X are 0 and ⬁, corresponding to
the most and least compact stable arrangements. This is
clearly a valid parameter for sufficiently dense powders be-
cause one can in principle calculate the configurational en-
tropy of an arrangement of grains and therefore derive the
compactivity from the basic definition. One can expect, de-
spite the strong constraints resulting from the stability con-
ditions, the number of packings to grow exponentially with
the volume of a sample and the configurational entropy de-
fined as a logarithm of this number is extensive.
Usually, it is more convenient to introduce the canonical
probability distribution:
P⫽e 共 Y ⫺W 兲 /␭X , 共50兲
Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
S. F. Edwards and D. V. Grinev
where ␭ is a constant which gives the entropy the dimension
of volume, and Y is the effective volume, it is the analog of
the free energy:
e ⫺ Y /␭X ⫽ 冕 e ⫺ W/␭X 兵 DR␣␤ 其 , 共51兲
⳵Y
V⫽Y ⫺X . 共52兲
⳵X
To illustrate this theory consider the simplest example of
a W, the analog of Bragg–Williams approximation:20 each
grain has neighbors touching it with a certain coordination
and angular direction. In order to set up an analogy with the
statistical mechanics of alloys we assume that each grain has
a certain property, which defines the ‘‘interaction’’ with its
nearest neighbors. Taking the coordination number of a grain
as such a property and assuming that there are just two types
of coordination z 0 and z 1 we assign a volume v i to any grain
with z i coordination number. Thus we write the volume
function as
W⫽n 0 v 0 ⫹ 共 N⫺n 0 兲v 1 , 共53兲
where N is the number of grains in the system, n i is the
number of grains with the coordination number z i , and N
⫽n 0 ⫹n 1 . The simple calculation of Y and V gives
共 v 0⫹ v 1 兲 共 v 0⫺ v 1 兲
Y ⫽N ⫺N␭X ln 2 cosh , 共54兲
2 ␭X
共 v 0⫹ v 1 兲 共 v 0⫺ v 1 兲 共 v 0⫺ v 1 兲
V⫽N ⫹N tanh . 共55兲
2 2 ␭X
Thus we have two limits: V⫽N v 0 , when X→0 and V
⫽N( v 0 ⫹ v 1 )/2 when X→⬁ (N is a number of grains兲. Note
that the maximum V is not N v 1 just as in the thermal system
共say a spin in a magnetic field兲 with two energy levels E 0
and E 1 one has E⫽E 0 when T→0 and E⫽(E 0 ⫹E 1 )/2
when T→⬁. Other examples of volume functions include
packings of monodisperse spheres, elongated grains and
packings of irregularly shaped grains.21–23 Apparently, the
compactivity approach has its limitations. For example, it is
inapplicable for the analysis of granular flows and gases
where dissipative characteristics of particles 共such as friction
and restitution coefficients兲 are key quantities that govern the
physics. However, for the case of static arrangements of par-
ticles, the compactivity concept is natural and indispensable.
Let us discuss different ways to measure this quantity. In
statistical mechanics, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem re-
lates the dissipative response of a system to an external per-
turbation, with the microscopic dynamics of the system in a
state of equilibrium. The configurational space for the granu-
lar medium is explored by fluctuations induced by external
perturbation sources, such as vibrations. In a vibrated granu-
lar material, density fluctuations from the steady state repre-
sent the different volume configurations accessible to grains.
In thermal statistical mechanics we can write the specific
heat as
C V⫽ 冉 冊
dE 0
dT V
⫽
具 共 E⫺E 0 兲 2 典
k BT 2
, 共56兲
Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999
FIG. 2. ‘‘Zeroth law’’ experiment: X A ⫽X B and X A ⫽X C , hence X C ⫽X B .
where E 0 is the equilibrium average of the energy of the
system, k B is Boltzmann’s constant, T is the absolute tem-
perature, and 具 ¯ 典 represents the time average. In our theory,
the analogous quantity to the specific heat 共56兲 is
dV ss 具 共 V⫺V ss 兲 2 典
C⫽ ⫽ ,
dX ␭X 2
where V ss is the steady-state volume,
冕 V1
V2 dV ss
具 共 V⫺V ss 兲 典
2
⫽
1
⫺
1
␭X 2 ␭X 1
. 共58兲
Equation 共58兲 has been used24 to calculate the compac-
tivity difference for any two volumes by measuring the fluc-
tuations of the densities in the steady state. Given a suitable
point of reference, Eq. 共58兲 allows the determination of an
absolute value for compactivity. Despite all its merits, this is
an indirect method of measuring X. However, how can one
then measure X directly? We argue that a direct method
should be based on an analog of the zeroth law of thermo-
dynamics: no net volume will be transferred between the two
granular materials when they are placed in contact with each
other if they have the same compactivity 共see Fig. 2兲. This
means that we should be able to define a state of equilibrium
such that two systems in equilibrium with a third system are
also in equilibrium with each other. In conclusion, though
mathematically feasible, the applicability of the compactivity
concept in the description of static and quasistatic granular
materials requires further experimental investigation.
IV. DISCUSSION
In Sec. II we have given the analysis of stress for the
case of granular arrays with the fixed values of the coordi-
nation number. However, a realistic granular packing can
have a fluctuating coordination number which need not nec-
essarily be 3 in 2D or 4 in 3D. How can one extend the
formalism of Sec. II to make it capable of dealing with arbi-
trary packings? The simplest 共however sensible兲 idea is to
assume that in 3D the major force is transmitted only
through four contacts 共we call them active contacts兲. The rest
of the contacts transmit only an infinitesimal stress and can
be christened as passive. Considerable experimental evi-
dence for this conjecture does exist. Photoelastic visualiza-
tion experiments4,25 show that stresses in static granular me-
Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp
Stress in granular materials 557
dia concentrate along certain well-defined paths. A
disproportionally large amount of force is transmitted via
these stress paths within the material. Computer
simulations26–29 also confirm the existence of well-defined
stress-bearing paths. At the macroscopic scale, the most ob-
vious characteristic of a granular packing is its density. As it
has been shown in Sec. III it is natural to introduce the vol-
ume function W and compactivity X⫽ ⳵ V/ ⳵ S. 30,31 The sta-
tistical ensemble now includes the set of topological configu-
rations with different microscopic force patterns. Therefore,
in order to have a complete set of physical variables, one
should combine the volume probability density functional
共45兲 with the stress probability density functional 共13兲. The
joint probability functional can be written in the form
P 兵 V 兩 S ␣i j 其 ⫽Ñ␦ 共 V⫺W 兲 兿
␣,␤
␦ 冉 S ␣i j ⫺ 兺␤ f ␣␤ ␣␤
i rj 冊⌰ 共 f␣␤
•n␣␤ 兲 P 兵 f␣␤ 其 , 共59兲
where Ñ is the normalization. We speculate that this math-
共57兲 ematical object is necessary for the analysis of the stress
distribution in granular aggregates with an arbitrary coordi-
nation number. However, this is an extremely difficult prob-
lem which involves a mathematical description of force
chains, i.e., the mesoscopic clusters of grains carrying dis-
proportionally large stresses and surrounded by the sea of
spectator particles. An explicit theoretical analysis of this
problem will be a subject of future work. We offer the fol-
lowing argument. The probability functional for the macro-
scopic stress tensor ␴ i j (r) is
P 兵 ␴ i j 共 r兲 其 ⫽M̃␦ 共 ⵜ j ␴ i j ⫺ ␳ 共 r,g兲 ␦ 共 P i jk ␴ jk 兲 . 共60兲
This can be derived by coarse-graining Eq. 共13兲 or 共14兲 over
the ensemble of geometric configurations:
P 兵 ␴ i j 共 r兲 其 ⫽ 冕 P 兵 S ␣i j 其 P 兵 R␣␤ 其兵 DR␣␤ 其 . 共61兲
It is clear that there exists a relation between the ‘‘microca-
nonical’’ distribution 共45兲 and P 兵 R␣␤ 其 that encodes, in gen-
eral, the deposition history and the full information about the
microstructure of the packing. However, we have not found a
pathway to establish an explicit form of this relation. At the
same time we believe that the macroscopic equations of the
stress transmission involve compactivity X. In conclusion,
we have proposed a new formalism for deriving a stress dis-
tribution in disordered aggregates of rigid grains. We have
made a conjecture regarding the use of the compactivity con-
cept for the general case of granular packings, namely that of
an arbitrary coordination number.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
S.F.E. acknowledges an Emeritus Fellowship from Le-
verhulme Foundation. D.V.G. is most grateful to Shell 共Am-
sterdam兲 and to Gonville & Caius College for financial sup-
port.
1
Granular Matter: An Interdisciplinary Approach, edited by A. Mehta
共Springer, New York, 1993兲.
558 Chaos, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1999 S. F. Edwards and D. V. Grinev

2
Disorder and Granular Media, edited by D. Bideau and A. Hansen
共Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1993兲.
3
E. Guyon et al., ‘‘Nonlocal and nonlinear problems in the mechanics of
disordered systems: Application to granular media and rigidity prob-
lems,’’ Rep. Prog. Phys. 53, 373 共1990兲.
4 20
H. M. Jaeger, S. R. Nagel, and R. P. Behringer, ‘‘Granular solids, liquids,
and gases,’’ Rev. Mod. Phys. 68, 1259 共1996兲.
5
Physics of Dry Granular Media, edited by H. J. Herrmann, J.-P. Hovi, and
S. Luding 共Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1998兲.
6
S. F. Edwards and R. B. S. Oakeshott, ‘‘Theory of powders,’’ Physica A
157, 1080 共1989兲.
7
Tribology in Particulate Technology, edited by B. J. Briscoe and M. J.
Adams 共Hilger, Bristol, 1987兲.
8
A. Bose, Advances in Particulate Materials 共Butterworth-Heinemann,
Boston, 1995兲.
9 systems composed of irregularly shaped grains,’’ Physica A 210, 301
Mechanics of Granular and Porous Materials, edited by N. A. Fleck and
A. C. F. Cocks 共Kluwer, Dodrecht, 1997兲.
10
J. D. Goddard, ‘‘Continuum modeling of granular assemblies,’’ in Ref. 5,
Vol. 1.
11
S. B. Savage, ‘‘Problems in the statics and dynamics of granular materi-
als,’’ Powders and grains, edited by R. P. Behringer and J. T. Jenkins
共Balkema, Rotterdam, 1998兲, Vol. 18.
12
S. B. Savage, ‘‘Modeling and granular material boundary value prob-
lems,’’ in Ref. 5, Vol. 1.
13
R. C. Ball and D. V. Grinev, ‘‘The stress transmission universality classes
of rigid grain powders,’’ Phys. Rev. Lett. 共submitted兲, cond-mat/9810124.
14
J-P. Bouchaud, M. E. Cates, and P. Claudin, ‘‘Stress distribution in granu-
lar media and nonlinear wave equation,’’ J. Phys. I 5, 639 共1995兲.
15
J. P. Wittmer, P. Clauidn, M. E. Cates, and J-P. Bouchaud, ‘‘An explana-
tion for the central stress minimum in sand piles,’’ Nature 共London兲 382,
336 共1996兲.
16
J. P. Wittmer, P. Claudin, and M. E. Cates, ‘‘Stress propagation and arch-
ing in static sandpiles,’’ J. Phys. I 7, 39 共1997兲.
17
P. Claudin, J. P. Bouchaud, M. E. Cates, and J. P. Wittmer, ‘‘Models of
stress fluctuations in granular media,’’ Phys. Rev. E 57, 4441 共1998兲.
18
D. M. Mueth, H. M. Jaeger, and S. R. Nagel, ‘‘Force distribution in a
granular medium,’’ Phys. Rev. E 57, 3164 共1998兲.
19
M. E. Cates, J. P. Wittmer, P. Claudin, and J-P. Bouchaud, ‘‘Jamming,
force chains, and fragile matter,’’ Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1841 共1998兲.
S. F. Edwards, ‘‘The role of entropy in the specification of a powder,’’
Granular Matter: An Interdisciplinary Approach, edited by A. Mehta
共Springer, New York, 1993兲, p. 121.
21
C. C. Mounfield and S. F. Edwards, ‘‘The statistical mechanics of granular
systems composed of elongated grains,’’ Physica A 210, 279 共1994兲.
22
S. F. Edwards and C. C. Mounfield, ‘‘The statistical mechanics of granular
systems composed of spheres and elongated grains,’’ Physica A 210, 290
共1994兲.
23
C. C. Mounfield and S. F. Edwards, ‘‘The statistical mechanics of granular
共1994兲.
24
E. R. Nowak, J. B. Knight, E. BenNaim, H. M. Jaeger, and S. R. Nagel,
‘‘Density fluctuations in vibrated granular materials,’’ Phys. Rev. E 57,
1971 共1998兲.
25
C. H. Liu et al., ‘‘Force fluctuations in bead packs,’’ Science 269, 513
共1995兲.
26
C. Thornton, ‘‘Computer-simulated experiments on particulate materi-
als,’’ in Ref. 7.
27
C. Thornton, ‘‘Force transmission in granular media,’’ KONA Powder
and Particle 15, 81 共1997兲.
28
F. Radjai et al., ‘‘ Bimodal character of stress transmission in granular
packings,’’ Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 61 共1998兲.
29
F. Radjai et al., ‘‘Force distributions in dense two-dimensional granular
systems,’’ Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 274 共1996兲.
30
R. Monasson and O. Pouliquen, ‘‘Entropy of particle packings: An illus-
tration on a toy model,’’ Physica A 236, 395 共1997兲.
31
A. Higgins and S. F. Edwards, ‘‘A theoretical approach to the dynamics of
granular materials,’’ Physica A 189, 127 共1992兲.

Downloaded 17 Jul 2008 to 156.18.48.56. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://chaos.aip.org/chaos/copyright.jsp