Mechanical properties of granular materials: A variational approach to grain-scale simulations
The mechanical properties of cohesionless granular materials are evaluated from grain-scale simulations. A three-dimensional pack of spherical grains is loaded by incremental displacements of its boundaries. The deformation is described as a sequence of equilibrium configurations. Each configuration is characterized by a minimum of the total potential energy. This minimum is computed using a modification of the conjugate gradient algorithm. Our simulations capture the nonlinear, path-dependent behavior of granular materials observed in experiments. Micromechanical analysis provides valuable insight into phenomena such as hysteresis, strain hardening and stress-induced anisotropy. Estimates of the effective bulk modulus, obtained with no adjustment of material parameters, are in agreement with published experimental data. The model is applied to evaluate the effects of hydrate dissociation in marine sediments. Weakening of the sediment is quantified as a reduction in the effective elastic moduli.
- Research Organization:
- Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Earth Sciences Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 948572
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-1527E
- Journal Information:
- International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, Journal Name: International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics; ISSN 0363-9061; ISSN IJNGDZ
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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