Jamming, Yielding and Rheology of Weakly Vibrated Granular Media

Abstract: We establish that the rheological curve of dry granular media is non-monotonic, both in the presence and absence of external mechanical agitations. In the presence of weak vibrations, the non-monotonic flow curves govern a hysteretic transition between slow but steady and fast, inertial flows. In the absence of vibrations, the non-monotonic flow curve governs the yielding behavior of granular media. Finally, we show that non-monotonic flow curves can be seen in at least two different flow geometries and for several granular materials.