Interaction between dry granular materials and an inclined plate (comparison between large-scale DEM simulation and three-dimensional wedge model)

The interaction between dry granular materials and an inclined plate is numerically studied using a three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) simulation. In the simulation, a plate is dragged horizontally through densely packed dry granular materials. To examine the effect of the rake angle α of the plate on the drag force acting on the plate, three cases with α = 50°, 70°, and 90° are compared (α = 90° for a vertical plate). The results show that for all cases, the force oscillates as the plate advances. As α decreases, the amplitude and frequency of the force oscillation decrease and increase, respectively. The force oscillation is attributed to the periodic evolution of a shear band formed in the materials. The relationships between the rake angle, evolution of the shear band, and drag force can be explained quantitatively by using a three-dimensional wedge model considering the variation of the local volume fraction inside the shear band.     

Modeling shear localization along granular soil–structure interfaces using elasto-plastic Cosserat continuum

The current study presents finite element simulations of shear localization along the interface between cohesionless granular soil and bounding structure under large shearing movement. Micro-polar (Cosserat) continuum approach is applied in the framework of elasto-plasticity in order to overcome the numerical problems of localization modeling seen in the conventional continuum mechanics. The effects of different micro-polar kinematic boundary conditions, along the interface, on the evolution and location of shear band are shown by the numerical results. Furthermore, shear band thickness is also investigated for its dependence on the initial void ratio, vertical pressure and mean grain size. Here, the distribution and evolution of static and kinematic quantities are the main focuses regarding infinite layer of micro-polar material during plane shearing, especially with advanced large movement of bounding structure. The influence of such movement has not been investigated yet in the literature. Based on the results obtained from this study, shear localization appears parallel to the direction of shearing. It occurs either in the middle of granular layer or near boundaries, regarding the assumed micro-polar kinematic boundary conditions at the bottom and top surfaces of granular soil layer. Narrower shear band is observed in lower rotation resistance of soil particles along the interface. It is emphasized that the displacement magnitude of bounding structure has significant effect on the distribution and evolution of state variables and polar quantities in the granular soil layer. However, continuous displacement has no meaningful effect on the thickness of shear band. Here, smooth distributions of void ratio and shear stress components are obtained within the shear band, what the other previous numerical investigations did not receive. Despite indirect linking of Lade’s model to the critical state soil mechanics, state variables tend towards asymptotical stationary condition in large shear deformation.     

Filtration in a Porous Granular Medium: 1. Simulation of Pore-Scale Particle Deposition and Clogging

This paper presents a numerical model for simulating the pore-scale transport and infiltration of dilute suspensions of particles in a granular porous medium under the action of hydrodynamic and gravitational forces. The formulation solves the Stokes’ flow equations for an incompressible fluid using a fixed grid, multigrid finite difference method and an embedded boundary technique for modeling particle–fluid coupling. The analyses simulate a constant flux of the fluid suspension through a cylindrical model pore. Randomly generated particles are collected within the model pore, initially through contact and attachment at the grain surface (pore wall) and later through mounding close to the pore inlet. Simple correlations have been derived from extensive numerical simulations in order to estimate the volume of filtered particles that accumulate in the pore and the differential pressure needed to maintain a constant flux through the pore. The results show that particle collection efficiency is correlated with the Stokes’ settling velocity and indirectly through the attachment probability with the particle–grain surface roughness. The differential pressure is correlated directly with the maximum mound height and indirectly with particle size and settling velocity that affect mound packing density. Simple modification factors are introduced to account for pore length and dip angle. These parameters are used to characterize pore-scale infiltration processes within larger scale network models of particle transport in granular porous media in a companion paper. Articlenote: Currently at GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., 1 Edgewater Drive, Norwood, MA 02062, U.S.A.     

Discrete simulation and micromechanical analysis of two-dimensional saturated granular media

In this study, a novel approach to incorporate the pore water pressure in the discrete element method (DEM) to comprehensively model saturated granular media was developed. A numerical model was constructed based on the DEM by implanting additional routines in the basic DEM code; pore water pressure calculations were used with a two-dimensional (2D) model to simulate the undrained behavior of saturated granular media. This model coupled the interaction of solid particles and the pore fluid in saturated granular media. Finally, several 2D undrained shear tests were simulated. The test results showed that the model could predict the response of the saturated granular soil to shear loading. The effect of initial compaction was investigated. Biaxial tests on dense and loose specimens were conducted, and the effect of the initial density on the change in shear strength and the volume change of the system was investigated. The overall behavior of loose and dense specimens was phenomenologically similar to the real granular material. Constant volume tests were simulated, and the results were compared to those from the coupled model. Induced anisotropy was micromechanically investigated by studying the contact force orientation. The change in anisotropy depended on the modeling scheme. However, the overall responses of the media obtained using the coupled and constant volume methods were similar.     

Discrete simulation and micromechanical analysis of two-dimensional saturated granular media

In this study, a novel approach to incorporate the pore water pressure in the discrete element method （DEM） to comprehensively model saturated granular media was developed. A numerical model was constructed based on the DEM by implanting additional routines in the basic DEM code; pore water pressure calculations were used with a two-dimensional （2D） model to simulate the undrained behavior of satu- rated granular media. This model coupled the interaction of solid particles and the pore fluid in saturated granular media. Finally, several 2D undrained shear tests were simulated. The test results showed that the model could predict the response of the saturated granular soil to shear loading. The effect of initial compaction was investigated. Biaxial tests on dense and loose specimens were conducted, and the effect of the initial density on the change in shear strength and the volume change of the system was inves- tigated. The overall behavior of loose and dense specimens was phenomenologically similar to the real granular material. Constant volume tests were simulated, and the results were compared to those from the coupled model. Induced anisotropy was micromechanically investigated by studying the contact force orientation. The change in anisotropy depended on the modeling scheme. However, the overall responses of the media obtained usinz the couoled and constant volume methods were similar.     

An experimental study on spontaneous adiabatic shear band formation in electro-magnetically collapsing cylinders

The formation of shear bands in collapsing thick-walled cylinders (TWC) occurs in a spontaneous manner. The advantage of studying spontaneous, as opposed to forced, shear localization, is that it highlights the inherent susceptibility of the material to adiabatic shear banding without prescribed geometrical constraints. In the case of spontaneous shear localization, the role of microstructure (grain size and grain boundaries) on localization, is still unresolved. Using an electro-magnetic set-up, for the collapse of thick-walled cylinders, we examined the shear band formation and evolution in seven metallic alloys, with a wide range of strength and failure properties. To assess microstructural effects, we conducted systematic tests on copper and Ti6Al4V with different grain sizes. Our results match quite well with previously reported data on much larger specimens, showing the absence of a size effect, on adiabatic shearing. However, the measured shear band spacings, in this study, do not match the predictions of, existing analytical models, indicating that the physics of the problem needs to be better modeled.     

Evolving internal length scales in plastic strain localization for granular materials

A numerical model in the Cosserat continuum for strain localization phenomena in granular materials is developed and proposed in this paper. The model assumes a constant internal length scale that is used to describe the shear band thickness. However, it is observed that the internal length scales need to change to accommodate the possible change in the contact surface between the particles, damage of the particles or/and any change in the local void ratio within the domain, which will change the shear band thickness. The mathematical formulations used in the present numerical model were equipped with evolution equations for the length scales through the Micropolar theory, those formulations are proposed and discussed in this paper. The evolution equations of the internal length scales describe any possible change in the contact surface between the particles, damage of the particles if exists and/or any change in the local void ratio within the domain. Hence, the strain localization described by the enhanced model with evolving internal length scales is more accurate and closer to the real solution. The solution for the shear bands thickness shows more accurate correlation with the experimental results and less dependency on the mesh size when such evolution equations are used. Moreover, the shear band thickness and inclination evolve during the deformation process.     

Dynamic bulk and shear moduli due to grain-scale local fluid flow in fluid-saturated cracked poroelastic rocks: Theoretical model

Grain-scale local fluid flow is an important loss mechanism for attenuating waves in cracked fluid-saturated poroelastic rocks. In this study, a dynamic elastic modulus model is developed to quantify local flow effect on wave attenuation and velocity dispersion in porous isotropic rocks. The Eshelby transform technique, inclusion-based effective medium model (the Mori–Tanaka scheme), fluid dynamics and mass conservation principle are combined to analyze pore-fluid pressure relaxation and its influences on overall elastic properties. The derivation gives fully analytic, frequency-dependent effective bulk and shear moduli of a fluid-saturated porous rock. It is shown that the derived bulk and shear moduli rigorously satisfy the Biot-Gassmann relationship of poroelasticity in the low-frequency limit, while they are consistent with isolated-pore effective medium theory in the high-frequency limit. In particular, a simplified model is proposed to quantify the squirt-flow dispersion for frequencies lower than stiff-pore relaxation frequency. The main advantage of the proposed model over previous models is its ability to predict the dispersion due to squirt flow between pores and cracks with distributed aspect ratio instead of flow in a simply conceptual double-porosity structure. Independent input parameters include pore aspect ratio distribution, fluid bulk modulus and viscosity, and bulk and shear moduli of the solid grain. Physical assumptions made in this model include (1) pores are inter-connected and (2) crack thickness is smaller than the viscous skin depth. This study is restricted to linear elastic, well-consolidated granular rocks.     

含液颗粒材料液固耦合分析的离散颗粒模型及特征线SPH法

对含液颗粒材料流固耦合分析建议了一个基于离散颗粒模型与特征线SPH法的显式拉格朗日-欧拉无网格方案。在已有的用以模拟固体颗粒集合体的离散颗粒模型[1]基础上,将颗粒间间隙内的流体模型化为连续介质,对其提出并推导了基于特征线的SPH法。数值例题显示了所建议方案在模拟颗粒材料与间隙流相互作用的能力和性能以及间隙流体对颗粒结构承载能力及变形的影响。     

Granular vortices: Identification,characterization and conditions for the localization of deformation

We relate the micromechanics of vortex evolution to that of force chain buckling and, on this basis, formulate the conditions for strain localization in a continuum model of dense granular media. Using the traditional bifurcation analysis of shear bands, we show that kinematic vortex fields are in fact solutions to the boundary value problem satisfying null boundary conditions. To establish an empirical basis for our study, we first develop a method to identify the location of the core and boundary of each vortex from a given displacement field in two dimensions. We then employ this method to characterize the residual deformation field (i.e., the deviation of particle motions from the continuum deformation) in a physical experiment and a discrete element simulation of dense granular samples submitted to biaxial compression. Vortices in the failure regime are essentially confined to the shear band. Primary vortices, the clear majority, rotate in the same direction as the shear band; secondary vortices, the so-called wakes, rotate in the opposite direction. Primary vortices align in spatial succession along the central axis of the band; wakes form next to the band boundaries, in between and beside two adjacent primary vortices. Force chain buckling, the governing mechanism for shear bands, is responsible for vortex formation in the failure regime. Vortex dynamics are consistent with stick-slip dynamics. From quiescent conditions of jamming or stick, vortical motions arise from force chain buckling and associated relative particle rotations and sliding; these in turn precipitate intermittent periods of unjamming or slip, evident in the attendant drops in stress ratio and bursts in both kinetic energy and local nonaffine deformation. A kinematic vortex field inside shear bands is proposed that is consistent with the equations of continuum mechanics and the underlying instability of force chain buckling: such a field is periodic with a repeating unit cell comprising a primary vortex at the center of the band, with two trailing wakes close next to the band boundaries.     

Filtration in a Porous Granular Medium: 2. Application of Bubble Model to 1-D Column Experiments

This paper describes the formulation of a quasi-1-D network model, referred to as the ‘bubble model’, and its application for simulating particle transport and filtration through a granular filter bed. The model comprises a series of homogeneous sites linked through bundles of cylindrical bonds that represent flow pathways through distributions of pores and pore throats. This model incorporates pore scale processes of particle sieving and infiltration are based on numerical simulations described in a companion paper. The modeling of infiltration is further refined based on detailed experimental observations and measurements of the filtration of a dilute suspension of acrylic particles through a column of glass beads reported by Yoon et al. (2005 Water Resour. Res., to appear). Their data distinguish (a) between the collection of particles on grain surfaces and at grain-to-grain contact points, and (b) between particles that are fully entrapped and those that are hindered (temporarily collected) and can later become detached. These effects are represented by two parameters that characterize the probability of attachment and are linked to the surface roughness of the grains; one that describes the minimum particle size that can be fully entrapped, and one that describes the detachment rate. These parameters can be readily calibrated from conventional measurements of effluent concentration and effluent particle size distribution. Detailed comparisons with the data reported by Yoon et al. show that the proposed bubble model is able to achieve reliable predictions of the spatial distribution of particles within the filter bed following phases of particle injection and washing.     

A new crystal plasticity scheme for explicit time integration codes to simulate deformation in 3D microstructures: Effects of strain path,strain rate and thermal softening on localized deformation in the aluminum alloy 5754 during simple shear

The predominant deformation mode during material failure is shear. In this paper, a crystal plasticity scheme for explicit time integration codes is developed based on a forward Euler algorithm. The numerical model is incorporated in the UMAT subroutine for implementing rate-dependent crystal plasticity model in LS-DYNA/Explicit. The sheet is modeled as a face centered cubic (FCC) polycrystalline aggregate, and a finite element analysis based on rate-dependent crystal plasticity is implemented to analyze the effects of three different strain paths consisting predominantly of shear. Finite element meshes containing texture data are created with solid elements. The material model can incorporate information obtained from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and apply crystal orientation to each element as well as account for texture evolution. Single elements or multiple elements are used to represent each grain within a microstructure. The three dimensional (3D) polycrystalline microstructure of the aluminum alloy AA5754 is modeled and subjected to three different strain rates for each strain path. The effects of strain paths, strain rates and thermal softening on the formation of localized deformation are investigated. Simulations show that strain path is the most dominant factor in localized deformation and texture evolution.     

Description of local dilatancy and local rotation of granular assemblies by microstretch modeling

This study investigates the microstretch continuum modeling of granular assemblies while accounting for both the dilatant and rotational degrees of freedom of a macroelement. By introducing the solid volume fraction and the gyration radius of a granular system, the balance equations of the microstretch continuum are transformed into a new formulation of evolution equations comprising six variables: the solid volume fraction, the gyration radius, the velocity field, the averaged angular velocity, the rate of gyration radius, and the internal energy. The bulk microinertia density, the averaged angular velocity, and the microgyration tensor at a macroscopic point are obtained in terms of discrete physical quantities. The bulk part and the rotational part of the microgyration tensor are proposed as the two indices to measure the local dilatancy and local rotation of granular assemblies. It is demonstrated in the numerical simulation that the two indices can be used to identify the shear band evolution in a granular system under a biaxial compression.     

Evolution of functional connectivity in contact and force chain networks: Feature vectors,k-cores and minimal cycles

We analyze the rheological response, i.e., fabric and contact force evolution, of dense granular materials from a complex networks perspective. The strain evolution of three classes of subnetworks, i.e., k-cores, minimal cycles and force chain networks, elucidates the breakdown of functional connectivity and structure in the lead up to and during failure. Feature vectors and dynamics occurring in such networks in three different biaxially compressed two-dimensional samples reveal some common aspects which are suggestive of an intrinsic structural hierarchy in granular networks – while differences shed light on the influence of confining pressure and interparticle rolling resistance on the evolution of these networks both at the mesoscopic as well as macroscopic levels.     

Revisiting poromechanics in the context of microporous materials

Poromechanics offers a consistent theoretical framework for describing the mechanical response of porous solids, fully or partially saturated with a fluid phase. When dealing with fully saturated microporous materials, which exhibit pores of the nanometre size, aside from the fluid pressure acting on the pore walls additional effects due to adsorption and confinement of the fluid molecules in the smallest pores must be accounted for. From the mechanical point of view, these phenomena result into volumetric deformations of the porous solid: the so-called “swelling” phenomenon. The present work investigates how the poromechanical theory should be refined in order to describe adsorption and confinement induced swelling in microporous solids. Firstly, we report molecular simulation results that show that the pressure and density of the fluid in the smallest pores are responsible for the volumetric deformation of the material. Secondly, poromechanics is revisited in the context of a microporous material with a continuous pore size distribution. Accounting for the thermodynamic equilibrium of the fluid phase in the overall pore space, the new formulation introduces an apparent porosity and an interaction free energy. We use a prototype constitutive relation relating these two quantities to the Gibbs adsorption isotherm, and then calculate the induced deformation of the solid matrix. Agreement with experimental data found in the literature is observed. As an illustrating example, we show the predicted strains in the case of adsorption of methane on activated carbon.     

Pore Scale Modeling of Rate Effects in Imbibition

We use pore scale network modeling to study the effects of flow rate and contact angle on imbibition relative permeabilities. The model accounts for flow in wetting layers that occupy roughness or crevices in the pore space. Viscous forces are accounted for by solving for the wetting phase pressure and assuming a fixed conductance in wetting layers. Three-dimensional simulations model granular media, whereas two-dimensional runs represent fracture flow.We identify five generic types of displacement pattern as we vary capillary number, contact angle, and initial wetting phase saturation: flat frontal advance, dendritic frontal advance, bond percolation, compact cluster growth, and ramified cluster growth. Using phase diagrams we quantify the range of physical properties under which each regime is observed. The work explains apparently inconsistent experimental measurements of relative permeability in granular media and fractures.     

Grain- and macro-scale kinematics for granular micromechanics based small deformation micromorphic continuum model

Macro-scale deformation of granular solids comprising large number of grains (>10⁶) are most efficiently described within the framework of continuum mechanics. It is notable, however that the micro-scale deformations in these materials are concentrated at the grain-boundaries or grain-contacts. Thus, the deformation energies in these systems must be modeled by considering the deformations concentrated in the neighborhood of the grain-boundaries or grain-contacts. To address this issue, grain-interactions has been widely described in the Hertzian sense by considering the relative movement of points on either side of a grain boundary or contact treated as an imperfect interface. This communication introduces the relevant kinematic variables given in the terms of the grain displacements, spins and size that can be used to estimate the relative movement of a grain boundary or contact. The macro-scale kinematic variables useful for continuum modeling are then identified with the grain-scale kinematic variables. The deformation energy density of the granular solid can thus be expressed both in terms of the grain-scale as well as the macro-scale kinematic variables providing the necessary pathway for micro-macro identification which can lead to non-classical micromorphic continuum models that incorporate grain-scale representation.