Space Grains
The aim of the Space Grains project is to study the dynamics and the statistical mechanics of an ensemble of particles that dissipates due to collisions. The experiments focus on clustering mechanisms, thermal fluctuations, convection, segregation and physical phenomena related to excited granular systems.
Coordination : E.Falcon and N.Vandewalle.-
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Granulogy project kick-off meeting – Jan. 2019
The kick-off meeting of the GRANULOGY project between Europe (ESA) and China (CSU) was held in ESA Headquarters in The Netherlands, with Chinese and European members of Space Grains.
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ISS VIP-GRAN Progress Meeting – Modena, Sept. 2018
This progress meeting took place in Modena, Italy. It gathered scientists of the Topical Team and industrials (DTM, CEDRA, UHB) to clarify the Experimental Scientific Requirements (ESR) in order to built the prototype model and the flight model of Vip-Gran for ISS.
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Article published in EPL (Europhysics Letters) August 2018
An article from the Topical Team has been published in August 2018:
Threshold of gas-like to clustering transition in driven granular media in low-gravity environment, EPL (Europhysics Letters) 123, 14003 (2018)
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Article published in Review of Scientific Instrument July 2018
An article from the whole Topical Team has been published in July 2018: An instrument for studying granular media in low-gravity environment Review of Scientific Instruments 89, 075103 (2018)
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ESA / CMSA meeting at Liège 26 June 2018
Following the joint proposal GRANULOGY between Europe (ESA) and China (CMSA), a meeting took place at Liège (26 June 2018) with Chinese and European members of Space Grains.
A clear common interest is to optimize the use of ISS and China Space Station (CSS) resources by sharing our complementary instruments (VIP-Gran from ESA side and a shear instrument from CMSA) and flight opportunities for the mutual scientific benefit of all. Both instruments could thus be used as a versatile platform to target experiments planned in the continuity of previous ESA and CMSA developments.
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Success of the 6th Parabolic Flight campaign!
The Space Grains collaboration used the Vip-Gran instrument during the 69th ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign, 16 – 26 April, 2018 at Novespace, Bordeaux (France).
Dynamics of Brownian-like particles moving in a thermalized granular gas has been investigated.
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SpaceGrains Workshop at Paris for PFC69, 12-13 March 2017
The workshop will be held in MSC laboratory, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France, on 12-13 March 2018 to prepare the 6th Parabolic Flight Campaign (ESA PFC69) of the Vip-Gran instrument. ESA PFC69 campaign is scheduled from 16 to 27 April 2018.
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5th Parabolic Flight Campaign for Vip-Gran – Nov 2017
The Space Grains collaboration will use the Vip-Gran instrument during the 67th ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign, November 6 to November 16, 2017 at Novespace, Bordeaux (France)
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Success of the 4th Parabolic Flight campaign!
The fourth parabolic flight campaign (PFC66) of the Vip-Gran instrument were performed in Bordeaux (France) in May 2017.
We observe for the first time a transition for rods between a gas-like regime of to a cluster-like regime when the density of rods is increased.
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