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.     

Similarities between GSH,hypoplasticity and KCR

Accounting for elasto-plastic motion in granular media, hypoplasticity is a state-of-the-art constitutive model derived from data accumulated over many decades. In contrast, GSH, a hydrodynamic theory, is derived from general principles of physics, with comparatively few inputs from experiments, yet sporting an applicability ranging from static stress distribution via elasto-plastic motion to fast dense flow, including non-uniform ones such as a shear band. Comparing both theories, we find great similarities for uniform, slow, elasto-plastic motion. We also find that proportional paths and the Goldscheider rule used to construct barodesy, another, more recent constitutive model, are natural results of GSH’s equations. This is useful as it gives these constitutive relations a solid foundation in physics and, in reverse, GSH a robust connection to reality. The same symbiotic relation exists between GSH and KCR, or Kamrin’s non-local constitutive relation, a model that was successfully employed to account for a wide shear band in split-bottom cells.     

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.     

Deformation mechanism of strain localization in 2D numerical interface tests

Heterogeneity arises in soil subjected to interface shearing, with the strain gradually localizing into a band area. How the strain localization accumulates and develops to form the structure is crucial in explaining some significant constitutive behaviors of the soil–structural interface during shearing, for example, stress hardening, softening, and shear-dilatancy. Using DEM simulation, interface shear tests with a periodic boundary condition are performed to investigate the strain localization process in densely and loosely packed granular soils. Based on the velocity field given by grains’ translational and rotational velocities, several kinematic quantities are analyzed during the loading history to demonstrate the evolution of strain localization. Results suggest that tiny concentrations in the shear deformation have already been observed in the very early stage of the shear test. The degree of the strain localization, quantified by a proposed new indicator, α, steadily ascends during the stress-hardening regime, dramatically jumps prior to the stress peak, and stabilizes at the stress steady state. Loose specimen does not develop a steady pattern at the large strain, as the deformation pattern transforms between localized and diffused failure modes. During the stress steady state of both specimens, remarkable correlations are observed between α and the shear stress, as well as between α and the volumetric strain rate.     

基于微形态理论的各向异性散体波动分析

基于散粒体微观力学理论,忽略颗粒转动引起的相对位移,考虑颗粒接触的组构各向异性,根据宏微观能量守恒推导得到了散体材料各向异性微形态本构关系,进而通过单位接触方向积分的递推公式推导出了各向异性本构张量表达式;在此基础上,根据哈密顿原理得到了各向异性散体材料的运动平衡方程和边界条件,从而求得了平面波在各向异性散粒体中的传播规律和频散关系,最后对波的频散关系和频率带隙进行了详细的参数分析。研究表明：该模型预测了散体中包含3类12种位移波：3种纵波、6种横波和3种平面内横向剪切波;横观各向同性条件下,接触各向异性参数a20越大,纵波和横波的频率越大,而平面内横向剪切波的频率越小;正交各向异性条件下,随着接触各向异性参数a22的增大,与2方向运动相关的横波频率增大,而与3方向运动相关的横波频率则减小;但a22的变化对纵波频率影响很小。材料各向异性程度对横波带宽影响不大,但对纵波带宽影响较大：a20的增大使得声?光学波间的带宽减小,而光学波间的带宽增大,当a20>0.84时,声?光学波间的带隙消失;但是a22的增大则使得声?光学波间的带宽增大,而光学波间的带宽减小。退化为各向同性模型后,预测3类波的频散曲线与其他各向同性模型的结果基本一致。     

A relation between safety factors with respect to strength and height of slopes

Conventional slope stability analysis is usually based on the linear Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion utilizing the notion of safety factors with respect to shear strength, and one of the available slice methods. Failure criteria of most soils are not linear, and it is possible to show that this non-linearity has a very significant effect on calculated safety factors. The present work is based on a non-linear failure criterion, which appears to fit the experimental information better than Mohr–Coulomb. All slice methods utilize various kinematical and static assumptions, which cannot be rationally justified. The present work is based on rigorous variational approach to slope stability analysis, which does not employ any kinematical and static assumptions. Safety factors with respect to shear strength are useful abstractions, but physical significance of results based on them is clear only at failure when they are equal to 1 (at any other value of the safety factor with respect to strength results of the analysis correspond to fictitious material with a modified shear strength function). In the present note, we use the variational analysis in order to establish a simple analytical relation between safety factors with respect to strength and height. These two safety factors provide alternative measures for the stability of a given slope; but the safety factor with respect to height appears to have clearer physical interpretation.     

A thermomicromechanical approach to multiscale continuum modeling of dense granular materials

A new method is proposed for the development of a class of elastoplastic thermomicromechanical constitutive laws for granular materials. The method engenders physical transparency in the constitutive formulation of multiscale phenomena from the particle to bulk. We demonstrate this approach for dense, cohesionless granular media under quasi-static loading conditions. The resulting constitutive law—expressed solely in terms of particle scale properties—is the first of its kind. Micromechanical relations for the internal variables, tied to nonaffine deformation, and their evolution laws, are derived from a structural mechanical analysis of a particular mesoscopic event: confined, elastoplastic buckling of a force chain. It is shown that the constitutive law can reproduce the defining behavior of strain-softening under dilatation in both the mesoscopic and macroscopic scales, and reliably predict the formation and evolution of shear bands. The thickness and angle of the shear band, the distribution of particle rotation and the evolution of the normal contact force anisotropy inside the band, are consistent with those observed in discrete element simulations and physical experiments.     

Modelling strain localization in granular materials using micropolar theory: numerical implementation and verification

Implementation and applications for a constitutive numerical model on F‐75 silica sand, course silica sand and two sizes of glass beads compressed under plane strain conditions are presented in this work. The numerical model is used to predict the stress versus axial strain and volumetric strain versus axial strain relationships of those materials; moreover, comparisons between measured and predicted shear band thickness and inclination angles are discussed and the numerical results compare well with the experimental measurements. The numerical model is found to respond to the changes in confining pressure and the initial relative density of a given granular material. The mean particle size is used as an internal length scale. Increasing the confining pressure and the initial density is found to decrease the shear band thickness and increase the inclination angle. The micropolar or Cosserat theory is found to be effective in capturing strain localization in granular materials. The finite element formulations and the solution method for the boundary value problem in the updated Lagrangian frame (UP) are discussed in the companion paper. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

剪切带运动学：重点评述三斜模式和区分韧性滑动擦痕与拉伸线理的重要性

详细评述了剪切带运动学和内部几何学研究的新进展。剪切带内的递进变形一般为三斜对称,单斜剪切带(包括简单剪切带)是特例情形。理论模拟表明,如同许多天然剪切带中所见到的,在三斜剪切带中,拉伸线理的方位可从近水平到平行于倾向连续变化。过去一般将拉伸线理的方向当作剪切运动方向的做法是以简单剪切模式为基础的,不适合于一般剪切带。在三斜剪切带中,拉伸线理和剪切方向之间不存在简单关系。然而,C面上的韧性滑动擦痕平行于剪切方向发育,是剪切方向的可靠标志。因此,在剪切带运动学解释中区分韧性滑动擦痕与拉伸线理非常重要。     

Implicit integration of simple breakage constitutive model for crushable granular materials: A numerical test

In the context of the recently developed breakage mechanics that is based on thermodynamics principles, this paper presents a mathematical modelling procedure to implement the simple (i.e., linear elastoplastic) breakage constitutive model using finite element analysis (FEA) with illustrations by engineering applications. More informative mathematical derivation procedures of energy dissipations, plastic potential, yield function and non-associated flow rules are presented. In contrast, the existing relevant publications often lack sufficient elaboration, leaving knowledge gaps in the full understanding the model. This is followed by a series of numerical simulations in ABAQUS to test the model at the constitutive level. Various isotropic and triaxial shear tests in drained or undrained conditions are tested to illustrate the key features of the breakage model, which seem to be overlooked in the literature. Finally, a few numerical results are compared with experimental shear tests to demonstrate the ability of the simple breakage model in reflecting mechanical responses of crushable granular aggregates.     

A comparative study of the hypoplasticity and the fabric‐dependent dilatant double shearing models for granular materials

In this paper, we consider the mechanical response of granular materials and compare the predictions of a hypoplastic model with that of a recently developed dilatant double shearing model which includes the effects of fabric. We implement the constitutive relations of the dilatant double shearing model and the hypoplastic model in the finite element program ABACUS/Explicit and compare their predictions in the triaxial compression and cyclic shear loading tests. Although the origins and the constitutive relations of the double shearing model and the hypoplastic model are quite different, we find that both models are capable of capturing typical behaviours of granular materials. This is significant because while hypoplasticity is phenomenological in nature, the double shearing model is based on a kinematic hypothesis and microstructural considerations, and can easily be calibrated through standard tests. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of periodic fluctuations of micro‐polar boundary conditions on shear localizations in granular soil–structure interaction

In this work, the interface behavior between an infinite extended narrow granular layer and a rough surface of rigid body is investigated numerically, using finite element method in the updated Lagrangian (UL) frame. In this regard, the elasto‐plastic micro‐polar (Cosserat) continuum approach is employed to remove the limitations caused by strain‐softening of materials in the classical continuum. The mechanical properties of cohesionless granular soil are described with Lade's model enhanced by polar terms, including Cosserat rotations, curvatures, and couple stresses. Furthermore, the mean grain diameter as the internal length is incorporated into the constitutive relations accordingly. Here, the evolution and location of shear band, within the granular layer in contact with the rigid body, are mainly focused. In this regard, particular attention is paid to the effects of homogeneous distribution and periodic fluctuation of micro‐polar boundary conditions, prescribed along the interface. Correspondingly, the effects of pressure level, mean grain diameter, and stratified soil are also considered. The finite element results demonstrate that the location and evolution of shear band in the granular soil layer are strongly affected by the non‐uniform micro‐polar boundary conditions, prescribed along the interface. It is found that the shear band is located closer to the boundary with less restriction of grain rotations. Furthermore, the predicted thickness of shear band is larger for higher rotation resistance of soil grains along the interface, larger mean grain diameter, and higher vertical pressure. Regarding the stratified soil, comprising a thin layer with slightly different initial void ratio, the shear band moves towards the layer with initially higher void ratio. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non‐linear analysis of shear band formation in sand

The paper investigates the incipience of shear band with an incrementally non‐linear constitutive equation. Necessary conditions for the emergence of shear band are derived. The lower bound solution is obtained by taking the strain rate inside and outside the shear band into consideration. Numerical results of localized bifurcation for general stress and strain are presented and compared with experiments. In the principal stress space, the stresses at the onset of shear band form a surface, which is partially enclosed by the failure surface for homogeneous straining. The significance of the analysis for identification of the material parameters and verification of the constitutive model against experiments is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquefaction Analysis Using Viscoplastic Kinematic Hardening Constitutive Model

The dynamic response analysis combined with the generalized return-mapping algorithm is applied to the integration algorithms of viscoplastic constitutive relations including the effect of the shear band. The kinematic hardening model based on modified and extended soil model with isotropic strain-hardening–softening is employed. In this paper, the TESRA (temporary effect of strain rate and acceleration) model is employed for the nonlinear viscosity of sand. The constitutive equations of rate-dependent plasticity originally proposed by Duvaut–Lions are employed as the base of the solutions. Liquefaction of a buried pipe is analyzed by finite element method by employing the above mentioned constitutive relations and the calculated results are compared with experimental results. The dynamic response analysis is applied to the solutions of the problems. The kinematic hardening–softening viscoplastic constitutive relations for geomaterials are promising for the predictions of cumulative deformations and liquefaction of the buried pipe. A great deal of experimental results indicate that the stress is a unique function of irreversible strain and its rate.     

A peridynamics model for strain localization analysis of geomaterials

Geomaterials such as sand and clay are highly heterogeneous multiphase materials. Nonlocality (or a characteristic length scale) in modeling geomaterials based on the continuum theory can be associated with several factors, for instance, the physical interactions of material points within finite distance, the homogenization or smoothing process of material heterogeneity, and the particle or problem size-dependent mechanical behavior (eg, the thickness of shear bands) of geomaterials. In this article, we formulate a nonlocal elastoplastic constitutive model for geomaterials by adapting a local elastoplastic model for geomaterials at a constant suction through the constitutive correspondence principle of the state-based peridynamics theory. We numerically implement this nonlocal constitutive model via the classical return-mapping algorithm of computational plasticity. We first conduct a one-dimensional compression test of a soil sample at a constant suction through the numerical model with three different values of the nonlocal variable (horizon) δ. We then present a strain localization analysis of a soil sample under the constant suction and plane strain conditions with different nonlocal variables. The numerical results show that the proposed nonlocal model can be used to simulate the inception and propagation of shear banding as well as to capture the thickness of shear bands in geomaterials at a constant suction.     

Instability and ill-posedness in the deformation of granular materials

A linear stability analysis of the partial differential equations of granular flow is performed. The constitutive relations include (i) elastic effects, (ii) non-associated flow rules and (iii) shear-strain hardening. Conditions for the equations to be well-posed and to be stable are derived. It turns out that there are two qualitatively different kinds of instability; which appears first depends on the parameters of the constitutive relations. If one kind appears first, then in a constitutive test a period of inhomogeneous deformation is predicted to occur before the formation of shear bands. If the other kind appears first, then shear bands are predicted to form in an approximately homogeneous sample. Some constitutive experiments are analysed from this viewpoint, and the analysis suggests some new experimental work.     

考虑颗粒破碎影响的粗粒土本构关系

粗粒土在较大的应力条件下容易产生颗粒破碎现象,而现有的大多数模型都没有考虑剪切过程中的颗粒破碎。模型将塑性功引入土体受力变形过程的能量方程中,推导得到土体流动法则。采用直线型屈服轨迹和非相关联流动法则,利用不排水应力路径计算得到硬化函数,建立了一个考虑颗粒破碎的粗粒土本构模型。对比分析表明：该模型对粗粒土在各种围压下的应力-应变和体应变计算结果与试验曲线吻合较好。     

Characterization of mesoscale instabilities in localized granular shear using digital image correlation

Within shear bands in sands, deformation is largely non-affine, stemming primarily from buckling of well-known force chains and also from vortex-like structures. In the spirit of current trends toward multiscale modeling, understanding the links between these mesoscale deformational entities and corresponding macroscale response will form the basis for the next generation of sand behavioral models and may also aid in efforts to understand jamming–unjamming transitions in dense granular flows in general. Experimental methods to quantify and characterize such subscale kinematics, in particular in real sands, will play critical roles in these efforts. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a fast growing experimental technique to nondestructively measure surface displacements from digital images. Here, DIC has been employed to identify and characterize the development of vortex structures inside shear bands formed in dense sands during plane strain compression. A rigorous assessment of the DIC method has been performed, in particular for subscale behavioral characterization in unbonded granular solids, and guidelines are offered for accurate implementation. While DIC systematically overestimates shear band thickness, a methodology has been devised to compensate for this overestimation. Shear band thickness for four different uniform sands were found to range between 6 and 9 grain diameters, and for a well-graded sand between 8 and 9.5 grain diameters. These determinations agree with visual inspections of grain kinematics from the image data, as well as recent theoretical predictions.     

Phenomenological fractional stress–dilatancy model for granular soil and soil-structure interface under monotonic and cyclic loads

The stress–dilatancy relation is of critical importance for constitutive modelling of geomaterial. A novel fractional-order stress–dilatancy equation had been developed for granular soil, where a nonlinear stress–dilatancy response was always predicted. However, it was experimentally observed that after a certain extent of shearing, an almost linear response between the stress ratio and the dilatancy ratio, rather than the nonlinear response, usually existed. To capture such stress–dilatancy behaviour, a new fractional stress–dilatancy model is developed in this study, where an apparent linear response of the stress–dilatancy behaviour of soil after sufficient shearing is obtained via analytical solution. As the fractional order varies, the derived stress–dilatancy curve and the associated phase transformation state stress ratio keep changing. But, unlike existing researches, no other specific parameters, except the parameter related to fractional order, concerning such shift are required. Then, the developed stress–dilatancy model is applied to constitutive modelling of granular soil and soil–structure interface, for further validation. A series of test results of different granular soils and soil–structure interfaces under different loading conditions are simulated and compared, where a good model performance is observed.

     

Mathematical identification of diffuse and localized instabilities in fluid‐saturated sands

The mathematical properties of diffuse and localized failure modes in fluid‐saturated sands are investigated. The granular medium is modeled as an elastoplastic solid, and a recently proposed set of scalar indices, here referred to as moduli of instability, is used to identify the onset of potential bifurcations of the incremental response. First, the analytical properties of these moduli are discussed, stressing their dependence on the kinematic constraints associated with the imposed deformation modes. Then, by using an elastoplastic model for sands, drained and undrained loading paths are simulated under axisymmetric, plane‐strain and simple shear conditions. For each deformation mode, the instability moduli are computed and monitored throughout the simulations, with the purpose of elucidating the consequences of changes in control conditions. In addition, it is illustrated that suitable linear transformations allow the same strategy to be used to perform drained or undrained shear band analyses and predict the interval of possible band inclinations. The final comparison against literature experiments on loose Hostun sand shows that the instability moduli are indicators of the loss of resistance against specific modes of deformation. As a result, they can be used to identify and explain a number of failure mechanisms that can be commonly observed in experiments. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.