Clustering and segregation in driven granular fluids.

In microgravity, the successive inelastic collisions in a granular gas can lead to a dynamical clustering of the particles. This transition depends on the filling fraction of the system, the restitution of the used materials and on the size of the particles. We report simulations of driven bi-disperse gas made of small and large spheres. The size as well as the mass difference imply a strong modification in the kinematic chain of collisions and therefore alter significantly the formation of a cluster. Moreover, the different dynamical behaviors can also lead to a demixing of the system, adding a few small particles in a gas of large ones can lead to a partial clustering of the taller type. We realized a detailed phase diagram recovering the encountered regimes and developed a theoretical model predicting the possibility of dynamical clustering in binary systems.