Experimental investigation of particle contact laws for discrete element model of granular materials

Abstract

This paper aims to present a failure criterion for cohesive granular materials subjected to combined loads, which can be applied to computational modelling with a general framework of discrete element method. The failure of a cohesive granular material with the stress–strain behaviour is investigated using the experimental method, and tests on couple of aluminium rods glued with epoxy resin were carried out under various loading conditions. Five series of tests (namely tension, compression, shearing, rotation and simply combined loading) were conducted to characterise the behaviours of cohesive bonds (load–displacement relationship, failure conditions). A failure criterion for the granular materials subjected to combined loads was presented by analysing the test results both separately and together. This criterion will provide positive support for the failure criterion equation and can be used in the further study of micro-mechanism of cemented soils using the discrete element method.

Keywords:

• Granular materials
• Cohesive bonds
• Mechanical behaviour
• Failure criterion
• Discrete element method