Evolution of voronoi/delaunay characterized micro structure with transition from loose to dense sphere packing

Micro structures of equal sphere packing (ranging from loose to dense packing) generated numerically by discrete element method under different vibration conditions are characterized using Voronoi/Delaunay tessellation, which is applied on a wide range of packing densities. The analysis on micro properties such as the total perimeter, surface area, and the face number distribution of each Voronoi polyhedron, and the pore size distribution in each Voronoi/Delaunay subunit is systematically carried out. The results show that with the increasing density of sphere packing, the Voronoi/Delaunay pore size distribution is narrowed. That indicates large pores to be gradually substituted by small uniformed ones during densification. Meanwhile, the distributions of face number, total perimeter, and surface area of Voronoi polyhedra at high packing densities tend to be narrower and higher, which is in good agreement with those in random loose packing. © 2007 Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd.