Brey J J, Prados A, Sánchez-Rey B
Departamento de Física Teórica, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Sevilla, Apartado de Correos 1065, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain.
Phys Rev E Stat Phys Plasmas Fluids Relat Interdiscip Topics. 1999 Nov;60(5 Pt B):5685-92. doi: 10.1103/physreve.60.5685.
A simple lattice model is used to study compaction in granular media. As in real experiments, we consider a series of taps separated by large enough waiting times. The relaxation of the density exhibits the characteristic inverse logarithmic law. Moreover, we have been able to identify analytically the relevant time scale, leading to a relaxation law independent of the specific values of the parameters. Also, an expression for the asymptotic density reached in the compaction process has been derived. The theoretical predictions agree fairly well with the results from the Monte Carlo simulation.
