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Phys. Rev. E 72, 031306 (2005) [10 pages]

Force distributions in a triangular lattice of rigid bars

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Brian P. Tighe and Joshua E. S. Socolar
Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA

David G. Schaeffer, W. Garrett Mitchener, and Mark L. Huber
Department of Mathematics and Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA

Received 4 May 2005; published 23 September 2005

We study the uniformly weighted ensemble of force balanced configurations on a triangular network of nontensile contact forces. For periodic boundary conditions corresponding to isotropic compressive stress, we find that the probability distribution for single-contact forces decays faster than exponentially. This superexponential decay persists in lattices diluted to the rigidity percolation threshold. On the other hand, for anisotropic imposed stresses, a broader tail emerges in the force distribution, becoming a pure exponential in the limit of infinite lattice size and infinitely strong anisotropy.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.72.031306
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.72.031306
PACS:
45.70.−n, 46.65.+g, 05.40.−a, 83.80.Fg