Granular Materials in 3D: Structural, mechanical and dynamic properties from the grain-scale and beyond

Granular materials are the most abundant class of materials processed, stored or handled. They span from cereals to advanced-new-materials and, although simple in composition, their behaviour remains elusive. Through the unique combination of an advanced X-ray tomography facility and cutting-edge 3D network analysis and statistical mechanics approach, the structure, mechanics and dynamic behaviour of these systems will be explored at the grain-scale. A greater understanding of this class of materials, which ranks second only to water on the scale of priorities of human activity, will have strong scientific, technological and economical impact in a wide range of fields from concrete to photonic-materials.