Evolution of shock instability in granular gases with viscoelastic collisions

Abstract

Shocks in granular media have been shown to develop instabilities. We address the role that early stages of shock development have on this type of instability. We look at the evolution of shock waves driven by a piston in a dilute system of smooth inelastic disks, using both discrete-particle and continuum modelling. To mimic a realistic granular gas, viscoelastic collisions are approximated with an impact velocity threshold $u^*$ needed for inelastic collisions to occur. We show that behaviour of the shock evolution is dependent on the ratio of piston velocity to impact velocity threshold $u_p/u^*$, and the coefficient of restitution $\varepsilon$. For $u_p/u^*=2.0$, we recover shock evolution behaving similar to that observed in purely inelastic media. This is characterized by a short period where the shock front pulls towards the piston before attaining a developed structure. No pullback is seen for $u_p/u^*=1.0$. Results show the onset of instability for these stronger shocks during this evolving stage. These results suggest that the early stages of shock evolution play an important role in the shock instability.