Granular dynamics: clustering and shear flows

Granular media, such as sand, flour and boulders, exhibit strongly energy dissipating interactions. Indeed, a marble thrown into a bucket of marbles does not bounce back, and a pile of sand at rest does not exhibit any dynamics. Therefore, to see some interesting dynamics, energy has to be supplied to these systems. In this thesis, three different methods of energy input are explored: shaking, impacting, and shearing.