A Glimpse Over Particle Displacement Fluctuations in an Isochoric Shear Test

Abstract The kinematics of particle assemblies under quasi-static mechanical loading is a complex matter both in comprehension and prediction. Maps of granular fluctuations lead to the display of structured patterns that resemble to turbulence of fluids. Statistical analyses prove the existence of long range correlations behind these patterns. Furthermore, the distributions of the fluctuation magnitudes present two parts, implying the existence of two modes of granular relocation. The fluctuations that belong to each of the two part are spotted in vector maps and it is shown that the emerging second part expresses fast, local particle rearrangement.