Abstract
We report recent results of molecular dynamics simulations of frictional athermal particles at constant volume fraction and constant applied shear stress, focussing on a range of control parameters where the system first flows, but then jams after a time t jam. On decreasing the volume fraction, the mean jamming time diverges, while its sample fluctuations become so large that the jamming time probability distribution becomes a power law. We obtain an insight into the origin of this phenomenology focussing on the flowing regime, which is characterised by the presence of a clear correlation between the shear velocity and the mean number of contacts per particle Z, whereby small velocities occur when Z acquires higher values.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge computer resources from the University of Naples Scope grid project, CINECA, CASPUR and DEISA.