Cooperative dynamics in the penetration of a group of intruders in a granular medium

F. Pacheco-Vázquez and J.C. Ruiz-Suárez ()
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F. Pacheco-Vázquez: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, Unidad Mérida
J.C. Ruiz-Suárez: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, Unidad Monterrey, PIIT Autopista al Aeropuerto Km. 9.5, Apodaca

Nature Communications, 2010, vol. 1, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract An object moving in a fluid experiences a drag force that depends on its velocity, shape and the properties of the medium. From this simplest case to the motion of a flock of birds or a school of fish, the drag forces and the hydrodynamic interactions determine the full dynamics of the system. Similar drag forces appear when a single projectile impacts and moves through a granular medium, and this case is well studied in the literature. On the other hand, the case in which a group of intruders impact a granular material has never been considered. Here, we study the simultaneous penetration of several intruders in a very low-density granular medium. We find that the intruders move through it in a collective way, following a cooperative dynamics, whose complexity resembles flocking phenomena in living systems or the movement of reptiles in sand, wherein changes in drag are exploited to efficiently move or propel.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1123

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