A new approach for calculating strain for particulate media

Discrete element modelling is a viable alternative to conventional continuum‐based analysis for analysing problems involving localized deformations of particulate media. However, to aid in the interpretation of the results, it is useful to express the results of discrete element analyses in terms of the continuum parameters of stress and strain. A number of homogenization methods have been proposed to calculate strain in discrete systems; however, two significant limitations of these methods remain. First, none of these methods incorporate particle rotation effects satisfactorily, although significant particle rotation occurs in shear bands in both physical tests and numerical simulations of granular materials. Additionally, observations of the particle displacement fields in shear bands in granular materials indicate that the displacements within the localizations are erratic. Consequently, existing linear, local interpolation approaches produce substantial variations in the strain values calculated in adjacent elements in the region of localization, hindering clear visualization of the strain localization as it evolves. A new method of domain discretization for calculating strain is proposed. This method is capable of capturing particle rotation and employs a non‐local meshfree interpolation procedure capable of smoothing the erratic displacements in strain localizations, which better defines their evolution. The proposed method is validated for problems involving both two and three dimensions. A number of methods are compared with the proposed method and pertinent insights are made. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Equivalent continuum strain calculations based on 3D particle kinematic measurements of sand

Constitutive modeling of granular materials has been a subject of extensive research for many years. While the calculation of the Cauchy stress tensor using the discrete element method has been well established in the literature, the formulation and interpretation of the strain tensor are not as well documented. According to Bagi, 1 researchers mostly adopt well‐known continuum or discrete microstructural approaches to calculate strains within granular materials. However, neither of the 2 approaches can fully capture the behavior of granular materials. They are considered complementary to each other where each has its own strengths and limitations in solving granular‐mechanics problems. Zhang and Regueiro 2 proposed an equivalent continuum approach to calculating finite strain measures at the local level in granular materials subjected to large deformations. They used three‐dimensional discrete element method results to compare the proposed strains measures. This paper presents an experimental application of the Zhang and Regueiro 2 approach using three‐dimensional synchrotron microcomputed tomography images of a sheared Ottawa sand specimen. Invariant Eulerian finite strain measures were calculated for representative element volumes within the specimen. The spatial maps of Eulerian octahedral shear and volumetric strain were used to identify zones of intense shearing within the specimen and compared well with maps of incremental particle translation and rotation for the same specimen. The local Eulerian volumetric strain was compared to the global volumetric strains, which also can be considered as an averaging of all local Eulerian volumetric strains.     

Deformation analysis of sands in cubical and hollow cylinder devices

For discrete materials like sands, the continuum field variables, stress and strain, are defined in terms of micro-level quantities by considering the deformation mechanism of granular soils from a microscopic point of view. Under the application of load, soil is considered to deform due to the movement relative to each other of clusters of particles. Based on this deformation mechanism, the kinematics of soils are developed and a strain tensor for granular soils, in terms of local displacements and geometric measures, is introduced. A local constitutive law relating local displacements and local tractions is defined. Using the local constitutive law, the relationships between stress and strain for the media are developed. The developed model incorporates the influence of strain hardening and material anisotropy on the deformation behaviour of the media. Comparisons of the model predictions and experimental results from tests conducted in cubical and hollow cylinder devices are presented.     

Multiscale modeling of large deformation in geomechanics

Large deformation soil behavior underpins the operation and performance for a wide range of key geotechnical structures and needs to be properly considered in their modeling, analysis, and design. The material point method (MPM) has gained increasing popularity recently over conventional numerical methods such as finite element method (FEM) in tackling large deformation problems. In this study, we present a novel hierarchical coupling scheme to integrate MPM with discrete element method (DEM) for multiscale modeling of large deformation in geomechanics. The MPM is employed to treat a typical boundary value problem that may experience large deformation, and the DEM is used to derive the nonlinear material response from small strain to finite strain required by MPM for each of its material points. The proposed coupling framework not only inherits the advantages of MPM in tackling large deformation engineering problems over the use of FEM (eg, no need for remeshing to avoid mesh distortion in FEM), but also helps avoid the need for complicated, phenomenological assumptions on constitutive material models for soil exhibiting high nonlinearity at finite strain. The proposed framework lends great convenience for us to relate rich grain-scale information and key micromechanical mechanisms to macroscopic observations of granular soils over all deformation levels, from initial small-strain stage en route to large deformation regime before failure. Several classic geomechanics examples are used to demonstrate the key features the new MPM/DEM framework can offer on large deformation simulations, including biaxial compression test, rigid footing, soil-pipe interaction, and soil column collapse.     

A predictive deep learning framework for path-dependent mechanical behavior of granular materials

As we transition into an era of data generation and collection, empirical summaries in the classical continuum modeling of granular materials cannot take full advantage of the increasingly larger data sets. This work presents a data-driven model for modeling granular materials, with the material data being extracted from discrete element method (DEM) simulations. A long short-term memory (LSTM) network is then employed to learn the mechanical behaviors of granular materials from the material dataset. Particular emphasis is placed on three elements: modification of LSTM unit cell, phase space sampling, and material history parameterization. The LSTM unit cell is modified so that the initial hidden state can be specified as the initial states of granular materials. Massive DEM simulations are performed to consider the effects of particle size distribution, initial density, confining pressure, and loading path on the mechanical behaviors of granular materials. The history-dependency of the granular materials is well represented by the architecture of the LSTM network and internal variable-based history parameterization. We compare the model predictions against DEM simulations to assess the performance of the proposed data-driven model. The results demonstrate that the model can predict the material behaviors of granular materials with different microstructures and initial states and reproduce the material responses under complex nonmonotonic loading paths. This data-driven model exhibits good generalization ability and high prediction accuracy in various situations.

     

Three-dimensional discrete element method parallel computation of Cauchy stress distribution over granular materials

The paper presents Cauchy stress tensor computation over parallel grids of message passing interface (MPI) parallel three-dimensional (3D) discrete element method (DEM) simulations of granular materials, considering spherical and nonspherical particles. The stress tensor computation is studied for quasi-static and dynamic conditions, and its resulting symmetry or asymmetry is discussed within the context of classical continuum mechanics (CCM), granular materials mechanics (GMM), and micropolar continuum mechanics (MCM). The average Cauchy stress tensor computation follows Bagi's and Nicot's formulations and is verified within MPI parallel 3D DEM simulations involving dynamically adaptive compute grids. These grids allow calculation of temporal and spatial distributions of stress across granular materials under static and dynamic conditions. The vertical stress component in gravitationally deposited particle assemblies exhibits nonuniform spatial distributions under static equilibrium, and its zone of maximum value changes during the process of gravitational pluviation and collapse. These phenomena reveal a microstructural effect on stress distribution within granular materials that is attributed to their discrete particulate nature (particle size, shape, gradation, boundary conditions, etc).     

颗粒材料的微观临界状态理论模型

存在临界状态是颗粒材料的一个重要特性。基于孔隙胞元的颗粒离散元方法对二维颗粒体进行双轴加载数值试验,在详细分析数值模拟结果的基础上,从微观几何组构的角度揭示了临界状态的存在机制。基于剪胀性原理,提出了以接触价键表征的微观临界状态理论模型,得到了接触价键与塑性剪切应变的关系表达式,理论模型的结果和二维离散元数值模拟得到的结果吻合较好。通过比较不同情况下数值结果和理论模型中的参数,得到以下结论：表征微观临界状态的参数（临界接触价键和达到临界状态所需要的塑性剪切应变）依赖于颗粒体的微观特性,如颗粒形状、表面摩擦性质、颗粒体的围压和初始孔隙比。     

3D analysis of kinematic behavior of granular materials in triaxial testing using DEM with flexible membrane boundary

This paper describes the constitutive behavior and particle-scale kinematics of granular materials in three-dimensional (3D) axisymmetric triaxial testing using discrete element method (DEM). PFC3D code was used to run the DEM simulations using a flexible membrane boundary model consisting of spherical particles linked through flexible contact bonds. The overall deformation behavior of the specimen was then compared with the specimen with rigid boundary and experimental measurements. Computed tomography was used to track the evolution of particle translation and rotation within a laboratory triaxial specimen in 3D. The DEM model of the flexible membrane specimen successfully predicted the stress–strain behavior when compared with laboratory experiment results at different confining pressures. The DEM results showed that the rigid specimen applies a uniform deformation and leads to non-uniformities in the confining stress along the particle-boundary interface in the lateral direction. In contrast, the flexible specimen better replicates the uniformly applied confining stress of a laboratory triaxial experiment. The 3D DEM simulations of the specimen with flexible membrane overpredicted particle translation and rotation in all directions when compared to a laboratory triaxial specimen. The difference between the particle translation and rotation distributions of DEM specimens with rigid and flexible membrane is almost negligible. The DEM specimen with flexible membrane produces a better prediction of the macroscopic stress–strain behavior and deformation characteristics of granular materials in 3D DEM simulations when compared to a specimen with rigid membrane. Comparing macroscale response and particle-scale kinematics between triaxial simulation results of rigid versus flexible membrane demonstrated the significant influence of boundary effects on the constitutive behavior of granular materials.     

A new SPH-based approach to simulation of granular flows using viscous damping and stress regularisation

The smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method was recently extended to simulate granular materials by the authors and demonstrated to be a powerful continuum numerical method to deal with the post-flow behaviour of granular materials. However, most existing SPH simulations of granular flows suffer from significant stress oscillation during the post-failure process, despite the use of an artificial viscosity to damp out stress fluctuation. In this paper, a new SPH approach combining viscous damping with stress/strain regularisation is proposed for simulations of granular flows. It is shown that the proposed SPH algorithm can improve the overall accuracy of the SPH performance by accurately predicting the smooth stress distribution during the post-failure process. It can also effectively remove the stress oscillation issue in the standard SPH model without having to use the standard SPH artificial viscosity that requires unphysical parameters. The predictions by the proposed SPH approach show very good agreement with experimental and numerical results reported in the literature. This suggests that the proposed method could be considered as a promising continuum alternative for simulations of granular flows.     

Continuum hydrodynamics of dry granular flows employing multiplicative elastoplasticity

We present a Lagrangian formulation for simulating the continuum hydrodynamics of dry granular flows based on multiplicative elastoplasticity theory for finite deformation calculations. The formulation is implemented within the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method along with a variant of the usual dynamic boundary condition. Three benchmark simulations on dry sands are presented to validate the model: (a) a set of plane strain collapse tests, (b) a set of 3D collapse tests, and (c) a plane strain simulation of the impact force generated by granular flow on a rigid wall. Comparison with experimental results suggests that the formulation is sufficiently robust and accurate to model the continuum hydrodynamics of dry granular flows in a laboratory setting. Results of the simulations suggest the potential of the formulation for modeling more complex, field-scale scenarios characterized by more elaborate geometry and multi-physical processes. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time the multiplicative plasticity approach has been applied to granular flows in the context of the SPH method.     

A virtual experiment technique on the elementary behaviour of granular materials with discrete element method

Multi‐scale investigations aided by the discrete element method (DEM) play a vital role for current state‐of‐the‐art research on the elementary behaviour of granular materials. Similar to laboratory tests, there are three important aspects to be considered carefully, which are the proper stress/strain definition and measurement, the application of target loading paths and the designed experiment setup, to be addressed in the present paper. Considering the volume sensitive characteristics of granular materials, in the proposed technique, the deformation of the tested specimen is controlled and measured by deformation gradient tensor involving both the undeformed configuration and the current configuration. Definitions of Biot strain and Cauchy stress are adopted. The expressions of them in terms of contact forces and particle displacements, respectively, are derived. The boundary of the tested specimen consists of rigid massless planar units. It is suggested that the representative element uses a convex polyhedral (polygonal) shape to minimize possible boundary arching effects. General loading paths are described by directly specifying the changes in the stress/strain invariants or directions. Loading can be applied in the strain‐controlled mode by specifying the translations and rotations of the boundary units, or in the stress‐controlled mode by using a servo‐control mechanism, or in the combination of the two methods to realize mixed boundary conditions. Taking the simulation results as the natural consequences originated from a complex system, virtual experiments provide particle‐scale information database to conduct multi‐scale investigations for better understanding in granular material behaviours and possible development of the constitutive theories provided the qualitative similarity between the simulation results from virtual experiments and observations on real material behaviour. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of particle crushing on particle kinematics and shear banding in granular materials

The paper provides an in-depth exploration of the role of particle crushing on particle kinematics and shear banding in sheared granular materials. As a two-dimensional approximation, a crushable granular material may be represented by an assembly of irregularly shaped polygons to include shape diversity of realistic granular materials. Particle assemblies are subjected to biaxial shearing under flexible boundary conditions. With increasing percentage of crushed particles, mesoscale deformation becomes increasingly unstable. Fragmented deformation patterns within the granular assemblies are unable to form stable and distinct shear bands. This is confirmed by the sparsity of large fluctuating velocities in highly crushable assemblies. Without generating distinct shear bands, deformation patterns and failure modes of a highly crushable assembly are similar to those of loose particle assemblies, which are regarded as diffuse deformation. High degrees of spatial association amongst the kinematical quantities confirm the key role that non-affine deformation and particle rotation play in the generation of shear bands. Therefore, particle kinematical quantities can be used to predict the onset and subsequent development of shear zones, which are generally marked by increased particle kinematic activity, such as intense particle rotation and high granular temperature. Our results indicate that shear band thickness increases, and its speed of development slows down, with increasing percentage of crushed particles. As particles crush, spatial force correlation becomes weaker, indicating a more diffuse nature of force transmission across particle contacts.     

Mechanical behaviour and failure of cohesive granular materials

We investigate the stress–strain behaviour and failure of a cohesive granular material both by experiments and numerical simulations. The material is an assembly of aluminium rods glued together by means of an epoxy resin. The behaviour of cohesive bonds (force–displacement relationship, failure conditions) is characterized by performing simple loading tests (tension/compression, shear…) on a couple of rods. Then, this local behaviour is introduced in a numerical code based on a discrete element method in order to perform numerical compression tests on large samples. The validation of this approach was the main goal of the present investigation that is essentially achieved by a direct comparison between the numerical results and similar experimental tests. As a basic application, we derive the macroscopic cohesion and friction characteristics of random cohesive materials by systematic numerical simulations in a biaxial geometry. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Overview of continuum and particle dynamics methods for mechanical modeling of contractional geologic structures

Mechanically-based numerical modeling is a powerful tool for investigating fundamental processes associated with the formation and evolution of both large and small-scale geologic structures. Such methods are complementary with traditional geometrically-based cross-section analysis tools, as they enable mechanical validation of geometric interpretations. A variety of numerical methods are now widely used, and readily accessible to both expert and novice. We provide an overview of the two main classes of methods used for geologic studies: continuum methods (finite element, finite difference, boundary element), which divide the model into elements to calculate a system of equations to solve for both stress and strain behavior; and particle dynamics methods, which rely on the interactions between discrete particles to define the aggregate behavior of the system. The complex constitutive behaviors, large displacements, and prevalence of discontinuities in geologic systems, pose unique challenges for the modeler. The two classes of methods address these issues differently; e.g., continuum methods allow the user to input prescribed constitutive laws for the modeled materials, whereas the constitutive behavior ‘emerges’ from particle dynamics methods. Sample rheologies, case studies and comparative models are presented to demonstrate the methodologies and opportunities for future modelers.     

颗粒材料数值样本的坐标排序生成技术

颗粒材料离散颗粒模型的数值模拟结果与颗粒材料的数值样本密切相关,随着离散单元在颗粒材料数值模拟领域的广泛应用,颗粒材料的数值样本生成技术日益受到重视。基于RSA模型研究如何使随机生成的颗粒材料更密实,对均匀颗粒而言亦即如何在指定区域内生成更多的颗粒,讨论了4类修正方案,并建议了一种基于坐标排序的样本生成技术。研究表明,在传统的颗粒体随机生成技术基础上,通过对随机生成的x坐标序列或y坐标序列进行排序,可使生成的颗粒材料数值样本更密实。     

Simulation of debris flow on an instrumented test slope using an updated Lagrangian continuum particle method

We present an updated Lagrangian continuum particle method based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) for simulating debris flow on an instrumented test slope. The site is a deforested area near the village of Ruedlingen, a community in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. Artificial rainfall experiments were conducted on the slope that led to failure of the sediment in the form of a debris flow. We develop a 3D mechanistic model for this test slope and conduct numerical simulations of the flow kinematics using an SPH formulation that captures large deformation, material nonlinearity, and the complex post-failure movement of the sediment. Two main simulations explore the impact of changes in the mechanical properties of the sediment on the ensuing kinematics of the flow. The first simulation models the sediment as a granular homogeneous material, while the second simulation models the sediment as a heterogeneous material with spatially varying cohesion. The variable cohesion is meant to represent the effects of root reinforcement from vegetation. By comparing the numerical solutions with the observed failure surfaces and final free-surface geometries of the debris deposit, as well as with the observed flow velocity, flow duration, and hot spots of strain concentration, we provide insights into the accuracy and robustness of the SPH framework for modeling debris flows.

     

A micromechanically derived anisotropic micropolar constitutive law for granular media: Elasticity

In the present work, it is attempted to derive a macroscopic constitutive law for the elastic deformation of granular materials, based on microscopic considerations. For the sake of simplicity, the solution is restricted to two dimensions, that is, a random assembly of infinitely extended cylinders. After examining pairwise contact interactions, the elastic energy rate of the assembly is retrieved in a discrete form. Introducing the probability density function of the contact orientations, the continuum form of the elastic energy density rate is evaluated as a function of generalized strains and curvatures, and their rates. The stresses and couple stresses result as dual variables to the generalized strain and curvature rates. Some properties of the resulting model are discussed, examples are presented and conclusions are drawn.Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Micromechanical analysis of failure propagation in frictional granular materials

The extent to which the evolution of instabilities and failure across multiple length scales can be reproduced with the aid of a bifurcation analysis is examined. We adopt an elastoplastic micropolar constitutive model, recently developed for dense cohesionless granular materials within the framework of thermomicromechanics. The internal variables and their evolution laws are conceived from a direct consideration of the dissipative mechanism of force chain buckling. The resulting constitutive law is cast entirely in terms of the particle scale properties. It thus presents a unique opportunity to test the potential of micromechanical continuum formulations to reproduce key stages in the deformation history: the development of material instabilities and failure following an initially homogeneous deformation. Progression of failure, initiating from frictional sliding and rolling at contacts, followed by the buckling of force chains, through to macroscopic strain softening and shear banding, is reproduced. Bifurcation point, marking the onset of shear banding, occurred shortly after the peak stress ratio. A wide range of material parameters was examined to show the effect of particle scale properties on the progression of failure. Model predictions on the thickness and angle of inclination of the shear band and the structural evolution inside the band, namely the latitudinal distribution of particle rotations and the angular distributions of contacts and the normal contact forces, are consistent with observations from numerical simulations and experiments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the role of particle breakage in the shear failure behavior of granular soils by DEM

This article presents a fundamental study on the role of particle breakage on the shear behavior of granular soils using the three‐dimensional (3‐D) discrete element method. The effects of particle breakage on the stress ratio, volumetric strain, plastic deformation, and shear failure behavior of dense crushable specimens undergoing plane strain shearing conditions are thoroughly investigated through a variety of micromechanical analyses and mechanism demonstrations. The simulation of a granular specimen is based on the effective modeling of realistic fracture behavior of single soil particles, which is demonstrated by the qualitative agreement between the results from platen compression simulations and those from physical laboratory tests. The simulation results show that the major effects of particle breakage include the reduction of volumetric dilation and peak stress ratio and more importantly the plastic deformation mechanisms and the shear failure modes vary as a function of soil crushability. Consistent macro‐ and micromechanical evidence demonstrates that shear banding and massive volumetric contraction depict the two end failure modes of a dense specimen, which is dominated by particle rearrangement–induced dilation and particle crushing–induced compression, respectively, with a more general case being the combination and competition of the two failure modes in the medium range of soil crushability and confining stress. However, it is further shown that a highly crushable specimen will eventually develop a shear band at a large strain because of the continuous decay of particle breakage. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.