BOND-ORIENTATIONAL ORDER IN SHEARED DENSE FLOWS OF INELASTIC HARD-SPHERES

Three-dimensional bond-orientational order is studied using computer s imulations with 4296 hard, monodisperse inelastic spheres flowing in a Couette geometry at high shear rater At an average volume fraction cl ose to 0.6, a state with extended correlations in the orientations of particle clusters starts to develop for rough particles after sufficie ntly long run times. However, no clear evidence of crystallization is found in the system. Further tests of a sheared system comprised of sm ooth, inelastic spheres reveal crystallization consistent with the pre vious experimental observations. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physic s.