Granular clustering in a hydrodynamic simulation

Abstract

We present a numerical simulation of a granular material using hydrodynamic equations. We show that, in the absence of external forces, such a system phase-separates into high density and low density regions. We show that this separation is dependent on the inelasticity of collisions, and comment on the mechanism for this clustering behavior. Our results are compatible with the granular clustering seen in experiments and molecular dynamic simulations of inelastic hard disks.