OBJECTIVES


The purpose of the conference is to establish the state of knowledge and new developments in research on the micromechanical behavior of granular media. This meeting follows in the spirit of three successful conferences at Clermont-Ferrand, France in 1989, Birmingham, England in 1993 and Durham, USA in 1997.

The focus of the meeting is on the influence of particle interactions and assembly geometry on the macroscopic behavior of granular media. The practical goal of the activity is improved end product/process performance.

An improved understanding of the micromechanics of granular media requires an interdisciplinary approach involving statistical physicists, applied mathematicians, and chemical/civil/mechani-cal/agricultural engineers and is relevant to contemporary technological problems in a wide industrial context.

Papers are invited for presentation by lecture, poster, or video on theoretical, computational, experimental or industrial approaches to the micromechanics of granular media.