Dynamics of inelastically colliding rough spheres: Relaxation of translational and rotational energy

Preprint
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
  • 13 August 1997
Abstract
We study the exchange of kinetic energy between translational and rotational degrees of freedom for inelastic collisions of rough spheres. Even if equipartition holds in the initial state it is immediately destroyed by collisions. Hence the homogeneous cooling state is not consistent with friction. The simplest generalisation allows for two temperatures, characterizing translational and rotational degrees of freedom separately. For times larger than a crossover frequency, which is determined by the Enskog frequency and the initial temperature, both energies decay algebraically like t^(-2) with a fixed ratio of amplitudes, different from one.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: