This volume contains the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Micromechanics of Granular Media, Powders and Grains 2005. Powders and Grains is an international scientific conference held every 4 years that brings together engineers and physicists interested in the micromechanics of granular media. The book is a guide to the hottest topics in the general problem of the microscopic description and understanding of granulates. Powders and Grains offer an excellent overview of the state of the art research on granular media. Authors from all over the world and different backgrounds discuss their most up-to-date research interests and results in more than 280 concise articles. Included are experimental, numerical, and theoretical investigations by both engineers and physicists. The result is a valuable tool for engineers, physicists as well as for applied mathematicians, geologists, and other scientists concerned with problems ranging from the most basic and theoretical, to the daily problems of industry production, process performance or construction design.

"Are there common phenomena and laws in the dynamic behavior of granular materials, traffic, and socio-economic systems?" The answers given at the international workshop "Traffic and Granular Flow '99" are presented in this volume. From a physical standpoint, all these systems can be treated as (self)-driven many-particle systems with strong fluctuations, showing multistability, phase transitions, non-linear waves, etc. The great interest in these systems is due to several unexpected new discoveries and their practical relevance for solving some fundamental problems of today's societies. This includes intelligent measures for traffic flow optimization and methods from "econophysics" for stabilizing (stock) markets.

A knowledge of the mechanical behaviour of both naturally occurring materials, such as soils and rocks, and artificial materials such as concrete and industrial granular matter, is of fundamental importance to their proper use in engineering and scientific applications. This volume contains selected lectures by international experts on current developments and problems in the numerical modelling of cohesive-frictional materials which provide a deeper understanding of the microscopic and macroscopic description of such materials. This book fills a gap by emphasizing the cross-fertilization of ideas between engineers and scientists engaged in this exciting field of research.

Dry granular materials, such as sand, sugar and powders, can be poured into a container like a liquid and can also form a pile, resisting gravity like a solid, which is why they can be regarded as a fourth state of matter, neither solid nor liquid. This book focuses on defining the physics of dry granular media in a systematic way, providing a collection of articles written by recognised experts. The physics of this field is new and full of challenges, but many questions (such as kinetic theories, plasticity, continuum and discrete modelling) also require the strong participation of mechanical and chemical engineers, soil mechanists, geologists and astrophysicists. The book gathers into a single volume the relevant concepts from all these disciplines, enabling the reader to gain a rapid understanding of the foundations, as well as the open questions, of the physics of granular materials. The contributors have been chosen particularly for their ability to explain new concepts, making the book attractive to students or researchers contemplating a foray into the field. The breadth of the treatment, on the other hand, makes the book a useful reference for scientists who are already experienced in the subject.

A knowledge of the mechanical behaviour of both naturally occurring materials, such as soils and rocks, and artificial materials such as concrete and industrial granular matter, is of fundamental importance to their proper use in engineering and scientific applications. This volume contains selected lectures by international experts on current developments and problems in the numerical modelling of cohesive-frictional materials which provide a deeper understanding of the microscopic and macroscopic description of such materials. This book fills a gap by emphasizing the cross-fertilization of ideas between engineers and scientists engaged in this exciting field of research.

Dry granular materials, such as sand, sugar and powders, can be poured into a container like a liquid and can also form a pile, resisting gravity like a solid, which is why they can be regarded as a fourth state of matter, neither solid nor liquid. This book focuses on defining the physics of dry granular media in a systematic way, providing a collection of articles written by recognised experts. The physics of this field is new and full of challenges, but many questions (such as kinetic theories, plasticity, continuum and discrete modelling) also require the strong participation of mechanical and chemical engineers, soil mechanists, geologists and astrophysicists. The book gathers into a single volume the relevant concepts from all these disciplines, enabling the reader to gain a rapid understanding of the foundations, as well as the open questions, of the physics of granular materials. The contributors have been chosen particularly for their ability to explain new concepts, making the book attractive to students or researchers contemplating a foray into the field. The breadth of the treatment, on the other hand, makes the book a useful reference for scientists who are already experienced in the subject.