DEM filtration modelling for granular materials: Comparative analysis of dry and wet approaches

A detailed study comparing two – dry and wet – numerical approaches to model filtration processes at stake in actual granular filters is presented using the discrete element method (DEM). In the first approach, the migration of fines is provided by gravitational forces, while in the second, hydrodynamic forces induce their movement. Numerical filtration tests were performed on granular filters involving materials with different gradings and porosities. The study demonstrated that the wet filtration approach generates higher tortuosity due to the possibility for fines to deviate from direct paths towards more open sideways. It leads to a lower coefficient of retention for the filter than if it were characterised using a dry filtration approach. However, the intensity of this feature greatly depends on the grading and the porosity of the granular filter. Finally, an enhanced dry filtration model designated as the “equivalent cyclic wet filtration model” is presented, which better mimics the results obtained through the preferable wet filtration model compared to the original dry filtration model. This new model constitutes a valuable alternative tool for studies of filtration properties in granular materials.     

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。     

控制应力路径散体材料真三轴试验强度特征的离散元模拟与细观机制分析

通过一系列真三轴离散元数值试验,模拟了不同应力路径下的等b试验中散体材料的强度特征。根据模拟结果详细地分析了三维应力条件下中主应力和应力路径对散体材料峰值强度的影响,研究了峰值摩擦角、峰值应力比的变化规律,并根据真应力的概念和组构张量的演化结果分析了散体材料的强度成因。研究表明,在不同类型的数值试验中峰值偏应力随b参数的变化规律不同,但采用初始围压归一化后的应力-应变曲线规律一致。峰值强度线的斜率只与b值有关而与应力路径无关,且随着b值的增加,峰值应力比qf /pf逐渐减小,数值模拟结果与室内试验结果吻合较好;随着应变的发展,数值试样的组构也随之发生变化,产生了明显的应力诱发各向异性;散体的强度为颗粒摩擦及材料各向异性共同作用的结果;理论上,组构比-应力比坐标系中破坏点位置仅取决于颗粒摩擦角 ,而数值模拟结果与理论值的差异源于颗粒间咬合和滚动摩擦的影响,其影响与颗粒表面摩擦系数有关,也受空间应力状态的影响。     

A visco‐elasto‐plastic model for granular materials under simple shear conditions

The numerical simulation of rapid landslides is quite complex mainly because constitutive models capable of simulating the mechanical behaviour of granular materials in the pre‐collapse and post‐collapse regimes are still missing. The goal of this paper is to introduce a constitutive model capable of capturing the response of dry granular flows from quasi‐static to dynamic conditions, in particular when the material experiences a sort of solid‐to‐fluid phase transition. An ideal assembly of identical spheres under simple shear conditions is considered. In the constitutive model, void ratio and granular temperature have been chosen as state variables, and both shear and normal stresses are computed as the sum of two contributions: the quasi‐static one and the collisional one. The former is determined by using a perfect elasto‐plastic model including the critical state concept, while the latter is derived from the kinetic theory of granular gases. The evolution of the granular temperature, fundamentally governing the material phase transition, is obtained by imposing the kinetic fluctuating energy balance. The constitutive relationship has been integrated, under both constant pressure and constant volume conditions, and the influence of shear strain rate, initial void ratio and normal pressure on the mechanical response has been investigated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.