Analysis of the forces in ordered FCC packings with different orientations

Ordered packing of hard spheres, namely 111 - and 100 -oriented FCC, is numerically generated by means of Discrete Element Method (DEM). The probability density distribution P(F) and transmission of interparticle forces in such a packing is analyzed in detail. It is shown that P(F) can be described by a symmetric distribution irrespective of the orientation, consistent with the literature findings. However, different orientations lead to different force transmissions because of the effect of gravity and stability requirement. In the 111 -oriented FCC, forces transmit both horizontally (in-plane) and vertically (inter-plane), while only vertical inter-plane forces are observed in the 100 -oriented FCC. The analysis on the two resulting sandpiles shows that a force peak exists at the position right under the sandpile apex.