BREAK UP PATTERNS OF A LINEAR STRING OF BALLS HIT BY A CUE BALL

摘要

The timing and the sequence of break ups of a string of balls hit by a cue ball reflect the properties of both the system and the balls. If the system is kept the same then different ball's models may lead to different break up patterns and thus allow assessment of the validity of various models. The latter is important in predicting the outcome of dynamic simulations in granular mechanics, especially when in dense systems clusters of balls are formed. Two ball's models, with equivalent linear and nonlinear (Hertz) stiffness, are tested numerically for different strings of balls: from 5 to 30. The collisions are assumed to be central. It is shown that the equivalent stiffness model is more computationally efficient while preserving the accuracy of the break up phenomenon.