3D Experimental Measurements of Evolution of Force Chains in Natural Silica Sand

Amirrahmat, Siavash; Imseeh, Wadi H.; Alshibli, Khalid A.; Kenesei, Peter; Jarrar, Zaher A.; Sharma, Hemant

doi:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002241

3D Experimental Measurements of Evolution of Force Chains in Natural Silica Sand

Journal Article · Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002241· OSTI ID:1617850

Amirrahmat, Siavash ^[1]; Imseeh, Wadi H. ^[1]; ^[1]; Kenesei, Peter ^[2]; ^[1]; Sharma, Hemant ^[2]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)

The mechanisms of force transmission in granular materials is a classic physics problem that has been addressed since the 19th century, when Heinrich Rudolf Hertz investigated the interaction between two similar objects that were in contact under compression. However, the study of force transmission mechanisms in assemblies of more particles has proven to be a formidable problem due to the complex nature of granular materials. In recent years, synchrotron microcomputed tomography (SMT) and three-dimensional X-ray diffraction microscopy (3DXRD) have been employed to study the mechanics of granular materials experimentally. Combining SMT and 3DXRD offers unique three-dimensional (3D) experimental measurements of the internal structure, kinematics (such as rotation and translation), and lattice strains of individual sand particles. In this paper, in situ SMT and 3DXRD scans were acquired at multiple load steps for a specimen composed of 2,705 natural Ottawa sand particles that were subjected to one-dimensional (1D) confined compression. An algorithm was developed to combine SMT images and 3DXRD lattice strain measurements and used to characterize the constitutive behavior of sand particles. The results were used to identify the crystal structure and the evolution of the stresses and lattice strains of individual sand particles. Another algorithm was developed to characterize the force structures within the specimen. Force structures were identified, and their properties (such as length) and evolution through the experiment were examined. The contact number of particles is a particle-scale property that affects the mechanics of granular materials. The effect of the contact number of the sand particles on the onset and evolution of the force structures was also investigated and discussed.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1617850

Journal Information:: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Journal Name: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 146; ISSN 1090-0241

Publisher:: American Society of Civil EngineersCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (41)

Capturing strain localization in dense sands with random density Andrade, José E.; Borja, Ronaldo I. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Vol. 67, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.1673	journal	January 2006
Can intergranular force transmission be identified in sand?: First results of spatially-resolved neutron and X-ray diffraction Hall, Stephen A.; Wright, Jonathan; Pirling, Thilo Granular Matter, Vol. 13, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-011-0251-x	journal	February 2011
Measurement and analysis of the stress distribution during die compaction using neutron diffraction Wensrich, C. M.; Kisi, E. H.; Zhang, J. F. Granular Matter, Vol. 14, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-012-0366-8	journal	August 2012
Strain tensor determination of compressed individual silica sand particles using high-energy synchrotron diffraction Alshibli, Khalid; Cil, Mehmet B.; Kenesei, Peter Granular Matter, Vol. 15, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-013-0424-x	journal	May 2013
Towards a more accurate characterization of granular media: extracting quantitative descriptors from tomographic images Vlahinić, Ivan; Andò, Edward; Viggiani, Gioacchino Granular Matter, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-013-0460-6	journal	December 2013
3D experimental quantification of fabric and fabric evolution of sheared granular materials using synchrotron micro-computed tomography Imseeh, Wadi H.; Druckrey, Andrew M.; Alshibli, Khalid A. Granular Matter, Vol. 20, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-018-0798-x	journal	March 2018
Nano and neutron science applications for geomechanics Penumadu, Dayakar; Dutta, Amal K.; Luo, Xin KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 13, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-009-0233-2	journal	June 2009
Photoelastic verification of a mechanical model for the flow of a granular material Drescher, A.; de Josselin de Jong, G. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. 20, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5096(72)90029-4	journal	October 1972
3D characterization of sand particle-to-particle contact and morphology Druckrey, Andrew M.; Alshibli, Khalid A.; Al-Raoush, Riyadh I. Computers and Geotechnics, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2015.12.014	journal	April 2016
Strain localisation in granular media Desrues, Jacques; Andò, Edward Comptes Rendus Physique, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crhy.2015.01.001	journal	January 2015
All you need is shape: Predicting shear banding in sand with LS-DEM Kawamoto, Reid; Andò, Edward; Viggiani, Gioacchino Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. 111 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2017.10.003	journal	February 2018
Friedel-pair based indexing method for characterization of single grains with hard X-rays Moscicki, M.; Kenesei, P.; Wright, J. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 524, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2009.05.002	journal	October 2009
Combined high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction and computed tomography to characterize constitutive behavior of silica sand Cil, Mehmet B.; Alshibli, Khalid; Kenesei, Peter Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 324 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2013.08.043	journal	April 2014
Experimental investigation of inter-particle contact evolution of sheared granular materials using X-ray micro-tomography Cheng, Zhuang; Wang, Jianfeng Soils and Foundations, Vol. 58, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2018.08.008	journal	December 2018
Contact force measurements and stress-induced anisotropy in granular materials Majmudar, T. S.; Behringer, R. P. Nature, Vol. 435, Issue 7045 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03805	journal	June 2005
Combining tomographic imaging and DEM simulations to investigate the structure of experimental sphere packings Delaney, Gary W.; Di Matteo, T.; Aste, Tomaso Soft Matter, Vol. 6, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1039/b927490a	journal	January 2010
Jamming for a 2D granular material Zhang, Jie; Majmudar, T. S.; Sperl, M. Soft Matter, Vol. 6, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1039/c000147c	journal	January 2010
3D Experimental Measurement of Lattice Strain and Fracture Behavior of Sand Particles Using Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction and Tomography Cil, Mehmet B.; Alshibli, Khalid A.; Kenesei, Peter Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 143, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001737	journal	September 2017
Micro Shear Bands: Precursor for Strain Localization in Sheared Granular Materials Amirrahmat, Siavash; Druckrey, Andrew M.; Alshibli, Khalid A. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 145, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001989	journal	February 2019
Buckling force chains in dense granular assemblies: physical and numerical experiments Tordesillas, Antoinette; Zhang, Jie; Behringer, Robert Geomechanics and Geoengineering, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/17486020902767347	journal	March 2009
On the metrology of interparticle contacts in sand from x-ray tomography images Wiebicke, Max; Andò, Edward; Herle, Ivo Measurement Science and Technology, Vol. 28, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/aa8dbf	journal	November 2017
Characterization of force chains in granular material Peters, J. F.; Muthuswamy, M.; Wibowo, J. Physical Review E, Vol. 72, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.72.041307	journal	October 2005
Force cycles and force chains Tordesillas, Antoinette; Walker, David M.; Lin, Qun Physical Review E, Vol. 81, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.81.011302	journal	January 2010
Quantifying Interparticle Forces and Heterogeneity in 3D Granular Materials Hurley, R. C.; Hall, S. A.; Andrade, J. E. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 117, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.098005	journal	August 2016
Bimodal Character of Stress Transmission in Granular Packings Radjai, Farhang; Wolf, Dietrich E.; Jean, Michel Physical Review Letters, Vol. 80, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.61	journal	January 1998
Jamming, Force Chains, and Fragile Matter Cates, M. E.; Wittmer, J. P.; Bouchaud, J. -P. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 81, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.1841	journal	August 1998
Stress Fluctuations in a 2D Granular Couette Experiment: A Continuous Transition Howell, Daniel; Behringer, R. P.; Veje, Christian Physical Review Letters, Vol. 82, Issue 26 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.5241	journal	June 1999
Packing of Compressible Granular Materials Makse, Hernán A.; Johnson, David L.; Schwartz, Lawrence M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 84, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.4160	journal	May 2000
A fast methodology to determine the characteristics of thousands of grains using three-dimensional X-ray diffraction. I. Overlapping diffraction peaks and parameters of the experimental setup Sharma, Hemant; Huizenga, Richard M.; Offerman, S. Erik Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 45, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1107/S0021889812025563	journal	July 2012
A twelve-analyzer detector system for high-resolution powder diffraction Lee, Peter L.; Shu, Deming; Ramanathan, Mohan Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, Vol. 15, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1107/S0909049508018438	journal	July 2008
On the calibration of high-energy X-ray diffraction setups. I. Assessing tilt and spatial distortion of the area detector Borbely, Andras; Renversade, Loic; Kenesei, Peter Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 47, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057671400898X	journal	May 2014
Characterization of the crystal structure, kinematics, stresses and rotations in angular granular quartz during compaction Hurley, Ryan C.; Herbold, Eric B.; Pagan, Darren C. Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 51, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600576718006957	journal	June 2018
Elastic constants of natural quartz Heyliger, Paul; Ledbetter, Hassel; Kim, Sudook The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 114, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1593063	journal	August 2003
Depth-First Search and Linear Graph Algorithms Tarjan, Robert SIAM Journal on Computing, Vol. 1, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1137/0201010	journal	June 1972
Experimental micro-mechanics of granular media studied by x-ray tomography: recent results and challenges Andò, E.; Viggiani, G.; Hall, S. A. Géotechnique Letters, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1680/geolett.13.00036	journal	September 2013
A critical state two-surface plasticity model for sands Manzari, M. T.; Dafalias, Y. F. Géotechnique, Vol. 47, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1997.47.2.255	journal	April 1997
Discrete and continuum analysis of localised deformation in sand using X-ray μCT and volumetric digital image correlation Hall, S. A.; Bornert, M.; Desrues, J. Géotechnique, Vol. 60, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2010.60.5.315	journal	May 2010
Three-dimensional experimental granular mechanics Hall, S. A.; Wright, J. Géotechnique Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.15.00094	journal	December 2015
Discrete particle translation gradient concept to expose strain localisation in sheared granular materials using 3D experimental kinematic measurements Druckrey, A. M.; Alshibli, K. A.; Al-Raoush, R. I. Géotechnique, Vol. 68, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.16.P.148	journal	February 2018
On the Yielding and Plastic Compression of Sand. Mcdowell, G. R. SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS, Vol. 42, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.42.139	journal	January 2002
Stress Distribution in Iron Powder during Die Compaction Kisi, Erich H.; Wensrich, Christopher M.; Luzin, Vladimir Materials Science Forum, Vol. 777 https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.777.243	journal	February 2014

Similar Records

3D Experimental Measurement of Lattice Strain and Fracture Behavior of Sand Particles Using Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction and Tomography

Journal Article · Sat May 27 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering · OSTI ID:1392611

3D finite element modelling of force transmission and particle fracture of sand

Journal Article · Wed Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Computers and Geotechnics · OSTI ID:1418058

Influence of Initial fabric and water-wetting on particle fracture and force chain evolution in natural silica sand

Journal Article · Mon Nov 10 23:00:00 EST 2025 · Computers and Geotechnics · OSTI ID:3008918

Related Subjects

3D x-ray diffraction microscopy
58 GEOSCIENCES
computed tomography
contact stresses
force chains
granular materials
sand

3D Experimental Measurements of Evolution of Force Chains in Natural Silica Sand

Citation Formats

References (41)

Similar Records

Related Subjects