Strengthening Interactions - How Particle Potentials Merge Into a Continuum

The deadline for applying as an Open Call applicant has been extended till June 7th, 2026. Apply through the register button. 

Granular materials such as sand, moon dust, or packed peanuts are both useful and difficult. Their flow properties are challenging to describe quantitatively since their mechanical properties are highly protocol dependent and with unusual phenomenology. It therefore remains an important scientific challenge to measure and model the structural, mechanical, and flow properties of granular materials.

Two main modeling strategies currently exist: granular materials can be described as discrete grains, or they can be envisioned as a continuum. To connect these approaches, it is important to understand particle-level details such as friction, cohesion, electric charge, particle shape and roughness.

However, effective strategies do not yet exist to incorporate microscopic effects into continuum modeling. In addition, measurement strategies that inform or validate the micro-scale-informed continuum models are limited.

In this workshop, we are assembling a multidisciplinary team to identify scientific solutions for these modeling and measurement challenges. We aim to find fundamental and industrially relevant answers. To achieve the latter, on Wednesday of the workshop we will feature a number of contributions from the private sector and sessions focused on topics with significant societal impact. The first two days of the workshop are geared towards development of the underlying scientific framework; and on Thursday and Friday we will discuss the scientific outcomes.