Influence of initial conditions on granular dynamics near the jamming transition

In this paper, we compare the behaviours of two vibrofluidized granular systems, identical in terms of their composition, geometry and driving parameters, differing only in their initial conditions. It is found that, by increasing the strength with which a system is initially excited, considerable differences in system composition and dynamics persist even after the driving is returned to its typical value. The observed changes in particle mobility and packing density are shown to result in marked differences in segregative behaviour for equivalent steady-state systems distinguished only by the history of their driving. The ability to significantly increase the rate of segregation in a granular system simply through the application of a short burst of intense vibration clearly has potential industrial applications.