The presented paper conducted a comprehensive comparison between the Hertz-Mindlin model and the linear spring model in true triaxial shear simulations of granular soils using the discrete element method (DEM). The no-slip Hertz-Mindlin model for general elastic non-spherical particles with smooth surfaces was revisited, and implemented for superellipsoidal particles in an in-house DEM code. Three groups of specimens with a grain size distribution of Ottawa 20-30 sands, consisting of spheres, ellipsoids, and superellipsoids, respectively, were subjected to triaxial shear DEM simulations with the Hertz-Mindlin model and the linear spring model. The corresponding mechanical behaviours were examined in terms of a series of macro-and micro-parameters. It is found that the linear spring model is able to resemble the Hertz-Mindlin model on aspects of both microscopic and macroscopic mechanical behaviours of granular media with spherical and/or non-spherical particles. This finding suggests that the linear spring model can be used to investigate micro-mechanical behaviours of granular soils even with complex particle shapes.
Zhao, S., et al. "Effects of curvature-related DEM contact model on the macro- and micro-mechanical behaviours of granular soils." Geotechnique, vol. 68, no. 12, Dec. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.17.p.158
Zhao, S., Evans, T. M., & Zhou, X. (2018). Effects of curvature-related DEM contact model on the macro- and micro-mechanical behaviours of granular soils. Geotechnique, 68(12). https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.17.p.158
Zhao, S., Evans, T. M., and Zhou, X., "Effects of curvature-related DEM contact model on the macro- and micro-mechanical behaviours of granular soils," Geotechnique 68, no. 12 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.17.p.158
@article{osti_1613548,
author = {Zhao, S. and Evans, T. M. and Zhou, X.},
title = {Effects of curvature-related DEM contact model on the macro- and micro-mechanical behaviours of granular soils},
annote = {The presented paper conducted a comprehensive comparison between the Hertz-Mindlin model and the linear spring model in true triaxial shear simulations of granular soils using the discrete element method (DEM). The no-slip Hertz-Mindlin model for general elastic non-spherical particles with smooth surfaces was revisited, and implemented for superellipsoidal particles in an in-house DEM code. Three groups of specimens with a grain size distribution of Ottawa 20-30 sands, consisting of spheres, ellipsoids, and superellipsoids, respectively, were subjected to triaxial shear DEM simulations with the Hertz-Mindlin model and the linear spring model. The corresponding mechanical behaviours were examined in terms of a series of macro-and micro-parameters. It is found that the linear spring model is able to resemble the Hertz-Mindlin model on aspects of both microscopic and macroscopic mechanical behaviours of granular media with spherical and/or non-spherical particles. This finding suggests that the linear spring model can be used to investigate micro-mechanical behaviours of granular soils even with complex particle shapes.},
doi = {10.1680/jgeot.17.p.158},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1613548},
journal = {Geotechnique},
issn = {ISSN 0016-8505},
number = {12},
volume = {68},
place = {United States},
publisher = {ICE Publishing},
year = {2018},
month = {12}}