Shearing of a narrow granular layer with polar quantities

The paper deals with numerical investigations of the behaviour of granular bodies during shearing. Shearing of a narrow layer of sand between two very rough boundaries under constant vertical pressure is numerically modelled with a finite element method using a hypoplastic constitutive relation within a polar (Cosserat) continuum. The constitutive relation was obtained through an extension of a non‐polar one by polar quantities, viz. rotations, curvatures, couple stresses using the mean grain diameter as a characteristic length. This relation can reproduce the essential features of granular bodies during shear localization. The material constants can be easily determined from element test results and can be estimated from granulometric properties. The attention is laid on the influence of the initial void ratio, pressure level, mean grain diameter and grain roughness on the thickness of shear zones. The results of shearing are also compared to solutions without the polar extensions. The FE‐calculations demonstrate that polar effects manifested by the appearance of grain rotations and couple stresses are significant in the shear zone, and its thickness is sensitive to the initial void ratio, mean grain diameter and layer height. The effect of the pressure level is rather low within the considered range. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

FE-studies on the influence of initial void ratio,pressure level and mean grain diameter on shear localization

The paper is concerned with shear localization in the form of a spontaneous shear zone inside a granular material during a plane strain compression test. The influence of an initial void ratio, pressure and a mean grain diameter on the thickness of a shear zone is investigated. A plane strain compression test with dry sand is numerically modelled with a finite element method taking into account a polar hypoplastic constitutive relation which was laid down within a polar (Cosserat) continuum. The relation was obtained through an extension of a non-polar hypoplastic constitutive law according to Gudehus and Bauer by polar quantities: rotations, curvatures, couple stresses and a characteristic length. It can reproduce the essential features of granular bodies during shear localization. The material constants can be easily calibrated. The FE-calculations demonstrate an increase in the thickness of the shear zone with increasing initial void ratio, pressure level and mean grain diameter. Polar effects manifested by the appearance of grain rotations and couple stresses are only significant in the shear zone. A comparison between numerical calculations and experimental results shows a satisfying agreement. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical investigations of shear localization in a micro‐polar hypoplastic material

In this paper a micro‐polar continuum approach is proposed to model the essential properties of cohesionless granular materials like sand. The model takes into account the influence of particle rotations, the mean grain size, the void ratio, the stresses and couple stresses. The constitutive equations for the stresses and couple stresses are incrementally non‐linear and based on the concept of hypoplasticity. For plane strain problems the implementation of the model in a finite element program is described. Numerical studies of the evolution of micro‐polar effects within a granular strip under plane shearing are presented. It is shown that the location and evolution of shear localization is strongly influenced by the initial state and the micro‐polar boundary conditions. For large shearing the state quantities tend towards a stationary state for which a certain coupling between the norm of the stress deviator and the norm of the couple stress tensor can be derived. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental and numerical study of sand–steel interfaces

Experimental and numerical studies on and sand–steel interfaces are presented. Emphasis is laid on the effect of boundary conditions of the whole system and of localized deformation. The experiments with different roughness of steel surface, sand density, normal stress and grain size are carried out in a plane strain apparatus, a parallely guided direct shear apparatus and in a planar silo model with a movable bottom and parallel steel walls. During the test in the plane strain apparatus the localized zone is observed with the help of X-rays. The results indicate a significant effect of wall roughness and boundary conditions of the whole system on the wall friction angle and the thickness of the localized zone along the steel surface. An elastoplastic constitutive model established within the framework of a Cosserat continuum, capable of describing isotropic hardening, softening and dilatancy, is implemented in a finite element code. The model differs from the conventional theory of plasticity due to the presence of Cosserat rotation and couple stress using the mean grain diameter as the characteristic length. Finite element simulations of simple shear tests are presented. The additional boundary condition along the steel plate, characteristic of the Cosserat continuum, allows for modelling the different roughness of the steel plate with consideration of grain rotations. A comparison between the numerical calculations and the experimental results shows acceptable agreement.     

Numerical simulation of the effect of interface friction of a bounding structure on shear deformation in a granular soil

Recently, the shear behavior of a cohesionless granular strip that is in contact with a very rough surface of a moving bounding structure has been numerically investigated by several authors by using a micropolar hypoplastic continuum model. It was shown that the micropolar boundary conditions assumed along the interface have a strong influence on the deformations within the granular layer. In previous investigations, only interface friction angles for very rough bounding structures were assumed. In contrast, the focus of the present paper is on the influence of the interface roughness on the deformation behavior of the granular strip when the interface friction angle is lower than the peak friction angle of the granular material. In addition to the interface friction angle, particular attention is also paid to the influence of the mean grain diameter, the solid hardness, the initial void ratio, and the vertical stress on the maximum horizontal shear displacement within the granular layer before sliding is started. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Particle‐scale effects on global axial and torsional interface shear behavior

An extensive literature on the shear behavior of continuum–particulate interfaces has been developed during the last four decades. However, relatively limited work regarding the behavior of interfaces under different loading conditions has been published. This paper presents a discrete element modeling study, along with comparisons from experimental data, of interface behavior under axial and torsional drained loading conditions. Detailed studies allow for links between micro‐scale particle behavior and observed global response to be developed and for the latter to be evaluated in light of particle–particle and particle–continuum interactions. The results of this study indicate that axial and torsional interface shear induce inherently different loading conditions, as shown by the different failure envelopes, stress paths, and induced soil volume changes and deformations. Furthermore, the results presented in this paper indicate that particle‐level mechanisms, such as particle rotations and contact slippage, play different roles in axial and torsional shear. Coordination number, polar histograms, particle displacements, particle rotations, and local void ratio measurements provide further insights into the fabric evolution, loading conditions, and failure mechanisms induced by these two shear modes. This study expands the current understanding of interface behavior and discusses potential improvements to geotechnical systems that leverage the characteristics of different imposed loading conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of non‐coaxiality in the simulation of strain localization based on classical and Cosserat continua

It is normally accepted that materials inside the shear band undergo severe rotation of the principal stress direction, which causes non‐coaxiality between the principal stress and principal plastic strain rate. However, classical plasticity flow theory implicitly assumes that the principal stress and the principal plastic strain rate are coaxial; thus, it may not correctly predict the onset of the shear band. In addition, classical continuum does not contain any internal length scales; as a result, it cannot provide a reasonable shear band thickness. In this study, the original vertex non‐coaxial plastic model based on the classical continuum is extended to the Cosserat continuum. The corresponding codes are implemented via the interface of the user defined element subroutine in ABAQUS. Through a simple shear test, the effectiveness of the user's codes is verified. Through a uniaxial compression test, the influence of non‐coaxiality on the onset, the orientation, and the thickness of the shear band is investigated. Results show that the onset of the shear localization is delayed, and the thickness of the shear band is widened when the non‐coaxial degree increases, while the orientation of the shear band is little affected by the non‐coaxial degree. In addition, it is found that the non‐coaxiality can weaken the micro‐polar effect to some extent; nonetheless, the Cosserat non‐coaxial model still has its advantage over the classical non‐coaxial model in capturing the pre‐bifurcation as well as the post‐bifurcation behaviors of strain localization. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deterministic and statistical size effect during shearing of granular layer within a micro‐polar hypoplasticity

The paper deals with numerical investigations of a deterministic and statistical size effect in granular bodies during quasi‐static shearing of an infinite layer under plane strain conditions, free dilatancy and constant pressure. For a simulation of the mechanical behaviour of a cohesionless granular material during a monotonous deformation path, a micro‐polar hypoplastic constitutive relation was used which takes into account particle rotations, curvatures, non‐symmetric stresses, couple stresses and the mean grain diameter as a characteristic length. The proposed model captures the essential mechanical features of granular bodies in a wide range of densities and pressures with a single set of constants. In the paper, a deterministic and statistical size effect is analysed. The deterministic calculations were carried out with an uniform distribution of the initial void ratio for four different heights of the granular layer: 5, 50, 500 and 2000 mm. To investigate the statistical size effect, the Monte Carlo method was applied. The random distribution of the initial void ratio was assumed to be spatially correlated. Truncated Gaussian random fields were generated in a granular layer using an original conditional rejection method. The sufficient number of samples was determined by analysing the convergence of the outcomes. In order to reduce the number of realizations without losing the accuracy of the calculations, stratified and Latin hypercube methods were applied. A parametric analysis of these methods was also presented. Some general conclusions were formulated. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

FE-modeling of shear resistance degradation in granular materials during cyclic shearing under CNS condition

The behaviour of dry and cohesionless granular material during quasi-static cyclic shearing under a constant normal stiffness (CNS) condition is theoretically studied. A particular attention is laid to the volumetric strain change and the degradation of the shear resistance in the course of shearing. Numerical calculations are carried out for several shear cycles under boundary conditions which are relevant to investigate the shear interface behaviour. The global and local evolution of deformation, stress and density within the granular material is investigated with a finite element method on the basis of a hypoplastic constitutive model extended by micro-polar quantities: rotations, curvatures and couple stresses. A mean grain diameter is used as a characteristic length of micro-structure. The constitutive equations for stresses and couple stresses take also into account the effect of the evolution of the void ratio, pressure dependent relative density, direction of rate of deformation and rate of curvature. The numerical results are qualitatively compared with corresponding laboratory tests on direct wall shearing performed by DeJong, Randloph and White. In addition, the results for cyclic shearing of an infinite granular layer between two very rough boundaries under CNS conditions are also enclosed and discussed.     

Analysis of soil‐structural interface behavior using three‐dimensional DEM simulations

The shear behavior at the interface between the soil and a structure is investigated at the macroscale and particle‐scale levels using a 3‐dimensional discrete element method (DEM). The macroscopic mechanical properties and microscopic quantities affected by the normalized interface roughness and the loading parameters are analyzed. The macro‐response shows that the shear strength of the interface increases as the normalized roughness of the interface increases, and stress softening and dilatancy of the soil material are observed in the tests that feature rough interfaces. The particle‐scale analysis illustrates that a localized band characterized by intense shear deformation emerges from the contact plane and gradually expands as shearing progresses before stabilizing at the residual stress state. The thickness of the localized band is affected by the normalized roughness of the interface and the normal stress, which ranges between 4 and 5 times that of the median grain diameter. A thicker localized band is formed when the soil has a rough shearing interface. After the localized band appears, the granular material structuralizes into 2 regions: the interface zone and the upper zone. The mechanical behavior in the interface zone is representative of the interface according to the local average stress analysis. Certain microscopic quantities in the interface zone are analyzed, including the coordination number and the material fabric. Shear at the interface creates an anisotropic material fabric and leads to the rotation of the major principal stress.     

基于Cosserat连续体的颗粒破碎影响研究

颗粒破碎对颗粒材料宏观力学行为有重要影响。 结合Hardin的破碎经验公式,将表征破碎程度的破碎参量与Cosserat连续体的内部长度参数相关联,形成一个基于Cosserat连续体且能考虑颗粒破碎的弹塑性模型。数值算例主要考察了颗粒破碎对颗粒材料承载能力、塑性应变及局部化行为的影响,数值结果表明,颗粒破碎主要发生在剪切带内,颗粒破碎使得剪切带明显变窄且剪切带内外等效塑性应变梯度明显增大。     

A continuum model of layered rock masses with non-associative joint plasticity

Layered rock masses can be modelled either as standard, orthotropic continua if the layer bending can be neglected or as Cosserat continua if the influence of layer bending is essential. This paper presents a finite element smeared joint model based on the Cosserat theory. The layers are assumed to be elastic with equal thickness and equal mechanical properties. All the cosserat parameters are expressed through the elastic properties of layers, layer thickness and joint stiffness. Plastic-slip as well as tensile-opening of layer interface (joint) are accounted for in a manner similar to the conventional non-associative plasticity theory. As an application, the behaviour of an excavation in a layered rock mass is examined. The displacement and stress fields given by smeared joint models based on the Cosserat continuum and the conventional anisotropic continuum approaches are compared with those obtained from the discrete joint model. The conventional anisotropic continuum model is found to break-down completely when the effective shear modulus in the direction parallel to layering is low in comparison to the shear modulus of the intact layer, whereas the Cosserat model is found to be capable of accurately reproducing complex load–deflection patterns irrespective of the differences in shear moduli. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling strain localization in granular materials using micropolar theory: mathematical formulations

It has been known that classical continuum mechanics laws fail to describe strain localization in granular materials due to the mathematical ill‐posedness and mesh dependency. Therefore, a non‐local theory with internal length scales is needed to overcome such problems. The micropolar and high‐order gradient theories can be considered as good examples to characterize the strain localization in granular materials. The fact that internal length scales are needed requires micromechanical models or laws; however, the classical constitutive models can be enhanced through the stress invariants to incorporate the Micropolar effects. In this paper, Lade's single hardening model is enhanced to account for the couple stress and Cosserat rotation and the internal length scales are incorporated accordingly. The enhanced Lade's model and its material properties are discussed in detail; then the finite element formulations in the Updated Lagrangian Frame (UL) are used. The finite element formulations were implemented into a user element subroutine for ABAQUS (UEL) and the solution method is discussed in the companion paper. The model was found to predict the strain localization in granular materials with low dependency on the finite element mesh size. The shear band was found to reflect on a certain angle when it hit a rigid boundary. Applications for the model on plane strain specimens tested in the laboratory are discussed in the companion paper. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non‐coaxiality and stress–dilatancy rule in granular materials: FE investigation within micro‐polar hypoplasticity

This paper deals with FE investigations of shear localization in dilatant granular bodies. The calculations were carried out with a hypoplastic constitutive law enhanced by micro‐polar terms to properly model the shear zone evolution. The behaviour of an initially medium dense sand specimen with very smooth and very rough horizontal boundaries was analyzed during a plane strain compression test. A stochastic distribution of the initial void ratio was assumed to be spatially correlated. Attention was focused on the non‐coaxiality of the directions of the principal strain increments and principal stresses in the shear zone and on the stress–dilatancy rule. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of initial density of cohesionless soil on evolution of passive earth pressure

This paper focuses on the influence of the initial void ratio on the evolution of the passive earth pressure and the formation of shear zones in a dry sand body behind a retaining wall. For the numerical simulation a rigid and very rough retaining wall undergoing a horizontal translation against the backfill is considered. The essential mechanical properties of cohesionless granular soil are described with a micro-polar hypoplastic model which takes into account stresses and couple stresses, pressure dependent limit void ratios and the mean grain size as a characteristic length. Numerical investigations are carried out with an initially medium dense and initially loose sand using a homogeneous and random distribution of the initial void ratio. The geometry of calculated shear zones is discussed and compared with a corresponding laboratory model test.     

A simulation study of microstructure evolution inside the shear band in biaxial compression test

We study the development of microstructure inside the shear band in granular media consisting of elliptical‐shaped particles. Plane strain biaxial compression test was simulated using two‐dimensional distinct element method. The generation of large voids and concentration of excessive particle rotation inside a shear band are found in a quite similar manner to those observed in natural soils. Evolution of the microstructure inside and outside the shear band is studied. The magnitude and direction of particle rotation inside the shear band is influenced by orientation of long axes of elliptical particles. Because of such particle rotations inside the shear band, the preferred alignment of particles becomes horizontal in the residual state, which results in a more anisotropic contact normal distribution oriented along the major principal stress axis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A double slip non-coaxial flow rule for viscous-plastic Cosserat materials

We propose a double slip non-coaxial plastic model within the framework of a Cosserat continuum theory. In a Cosserat continuum, a material point possesses the degrees of freedom of an infinitesimal rigid body: two translations and one rotation in 2D. We formulate the plastic model into viscous-plastic constitutive relationships and illustrate the viscous-plastic behaviour of the model by means of numerical solution of a simple shear problem.     

Effect of grain crushing on shear localization in granular bodies during plane strain compression

This article deals with the effect of grain crushing on shear localization in granular materials during plane strain monotonic compression tests under constant lateral pressure. The grain diameter and the initial void ratio were stochastically distributed using a spatial correlation. To describe the mechanical behavior of cohesionless granular materials during a monotonic deformation path in plane strain compression, we used a micropolar hypoplastic constitutive model that is able to describe the salient properties of granular bodies including shear localization. The model was extended by introducing changes to the grain diameter with varying pressure using formulae from breakage mechanics proposed for crushable granulates. The initial void ratios and grain diameters took the form of correlated random spatial fields described by both symmetric and nonsymmetric random distributions using a homogeneous correlation function. The field realizations were generated with the help of an original conditional rejection method. A few representative samples of the random fields selected from the generated set were taken into account in numerical calculations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A micro‐mechanical study of peak strength and critical state

We present a micro‐mechanical analysis of macroscopic peak strength, critical state, and residual strength in two‐dimensional non‐cohesive granular media. Typical continuum constitutive quantities such as frictional strength and dilation angle are explicitly related to their corresponding grain‐scale counterparts (e.g., inter‐particle contact forces, fabric, particle displacements, and velocities), providing an across‐the‐scale basis for a better understanding and modeling of granular materials. These multi‐scale relations are derived in three steps. First, explicit relations between macroscopic stress and strain rate with the corresponding grain‐scale mechanics are established. Second, these relations are used in conjunction with the non‐associative Mohr–Coulomb criterion to explicitly connect internal friction and dilation angles to the micro‐mechanics. Third, the mentioned explicit connections are applied to investigate, understand, and derive micro‐mechanical conditions for peak strength, critical state, and residual strength. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.