Wave propagation and pattern formation in two-dimensional hexagonally-packed granular crystals under various configurations

Abstract

We study wave propagation in two-dimensional granular crystals under the Hertzian contact law consisting of hexagonal packings of spheres under various basin geometries including hexagonal, triangular, and circular basins which can be tiled with hexagons. We find that the basin geometry will influence wave reflection at the boundaries, as expected, and also may result in bottlenecks forming. While exterior strikers the size of a single sphere have been considered in the literature, it is also possible to consider strikers which impact multiple spheres along a boundary, or to have multiple sides being struck simultaneously. It is also possible to consider obstructions or even strikers in the interior of the hexagonally packed granular crystal, as previously considered in the case of square packings, resulting in the basin geometry no longer forming a convex set. We consider various configurations of either boundary or interior strikers. We shall also consider the case where a granular crystal is composed of two separate crystals of differing material, with a single interface between the two distinct materials. Depending on the relative material properties of each type of sphere, this can result in a trapping of most of the wave energy within one of the two regions. While repeated reflections from the boundaries will cause the systems we study to fall into disorder for large time, there are a number of interesting wave structures and patters that emerge as transients at intermediate timescales.