TY - JOUR
T1 - Investigations of the effects of particle morphology on granular material behaviors using a multi-sphere approach
AU - Kodicherla, Shiva Prashanth Kumar
AU - Gong, Guobin
AU - Fan, Lei
AU - Wilkinson, Stephen
AU - Moy, Charles K.S.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to express their gratitude for the financial support from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) (Grant Nos. RDF 15-01-38 and RDF 18-01-23). Also, the support by the Key Program Special Fund at XJTLU (Grant No. KSF-E-19) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20160393) is greatly appreciated.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to express their gratitude for the financial support from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) (Grant Nos. RDF 15-01-38 and RDF 18-01-23 ). Also, the support by the Key Program Special Fund at XJTLU (Grant No. KSF-E-19 ) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20160393 ) is greatly appreciated.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - This article studies the influences of particle morphology on the behaviors of granular materials at both macroscopic and microscopic levels based on the discrete element method (DEM). A set of numerical tests under drained triaxial compression was performed by controlling two morphological descriptors, i.e. ratio of the smallest to the largest pebble diameter, ξ, and the maximum pebble–pebble intersection angle, β. These descriptors are vital in generating particle geometry and surface textures. It was found that the stress responses of all assemblies exhibited similar behavior and showed post-peak strain-softening. The normalized stress ratio and volumetric strains flatten off and tended to reach a steady value after an axial strain of 40%. While the friction angles at peak state varied with different morphological descriptors, the friction angles at critical state showed no significant variation. Moreover, evolution of the average coordination numbers showed a dramatic exponential decay until an axial strain of about 15% after which it stabilized and was unaffected by further increase of axial strain. In addition, stress ratio q/p and strong fabric parameter ϕds/ϕms were found to follow an approximately linear relationship for each assembly. These findings emphasized the significance of the influences of particle morphology on the macroscopic and microscopic responses of granular materials.
AB - This article studies the influences of particle morphology on the behaviors of granular materials at both macroscopic and microscopic levels based on the discrete element method (DEM). A set of numerical tests under drained triaxial compression was performed by controlling two morphological descriptors, i.e. ratio of the smallest to the largest pebble diameter, ξ, and the maximum pebble–pebble intersection angle, β. These descriptors are vital in generating particle geometry and surface textures. It was found that the stress responses of all assemblies exhibited similar behavior and showed post-peak strain-softening. The normalized stress ratio and volumetric strains flatten off and tended to reach a steady value after an axial strain of 40%. While the friction angles at peak state varied with different morphological descriptors, the friction angles at critical state showed no significant variation. Moreover, evolution of the average coordination numbers showed a dramatic exponential decay until an axial strain of about 15% after which it stabilized and was unaffected by further increase of axial strain. In addition, stress ratio q/p and strong fabric parameter ϕds/ϕms were found to follow an approximately linear relationship for each assembly. These findings emphasized the significance of the influences of particle morphology on the macroscopic and microscopic responses of granular materials.
KW - Discrete element method (DEM)
KW - Fabric
KW - Granular materials
KW - Particle morphology
KW - Triaxial compression
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090480691&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jrmge.2020.04.005
DO - 10.1016/j.jrmge.2020.04.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85090480691
SN - 1674-7755
VL - 12
SP - 1301
EP - 1312
JO - Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
JF - Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
IS - 6
ER -