Granular contact dynamics with elastic bond model

This paper proposes an elastic bond model in the framework of contact dynamics based on mathematic programming. The bond model developed in this paper can be used to model cemented materials. The formulation can be reduced to model pure static problems without introducing any artificial damping. In addition, omitting the elastic terms in the objective function turns the formulation into rigid bond model, which can be used for the modeling of rigid or stiffly bonded materials. The developed bond model has the advantage over the explicit DEM that large time step or displacement increment can be used. The tensile and shear strength criteria of the bond model are formulated based on the modified Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. The torque transmission of bonds is introduced based on rolling resistance model. The loss of shear or tensile strength, or torque transmission will lead to the breakage of bonds, and turn the bond into purely frictional contact. Three simple examples are first used to validate the bond model. Numerical examples of uniaxial and biaxial compression tests are used to show its potential in modeling cemented geomaterials. Numerical results show that elastic bonds are indeed necessary for the modeling of cemented granular material under static conditions.