JRMGE / Vol 16 / Issue 12

Article

Micromechanical modeling of hollow cylinder torsional shear test on sand using discrete element method

Shunxiang Song, Pei Wang, Zhenyu Yin, Yi Pik Cheng

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a Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, China
b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
c Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London, UK


2024, 16(12): 5193-5208. doi:10.1016/j.jrmge.2024.02.010


Received: 2023-11-26 / Revised: 2024-02-05 / Accepted: 2024-02-29 / Available online: 2024-04-23

2024, 16(12): 5193-5208.

doi:10.1016/j.jrmge.2024.02.010


Received: 2023-11-26

Revised: 2024-02-05

Accepted: 2024-02-29

Available online: 2024-04-23


Abstract:

Previous studies on the hollow cylinder torsional shear test (HCTST) have mainly focused on the macroscopic behavior, while the micromechanical responses in soil specimens with shaped particles have rarely been investigated. This paper develops a numerical model of the HCTST using the discrete element method (DEM). The method of bonded spheres in a hexagonal arrangement is proposed to generate flexible boundaries that can achieve real-time adjustment of the internal and external cell pressures and capture the inhomogeneous deformation in the radial direction during shearing. Representative angular particles are selected from Toyoura sand and reproduced in this model to approximate real sand particles. The model is then validated by comparing numerical and experimental results of HCTSTs on Toyoura sand with different major principal stress directions. Next, a series of HCTSTs with different combinations of major principal stress direction (α) and intermediate principal stress ratio (b) is simulated to quantitatively characterize the sand behavior under different shear conditions. The results show that the shaped particles are horizontally distributed before shearing, and the initial anisotropic packing structure further results in different stress–strain curves in cases with different α and b values. The distribution of force chains is affected by both α and b during the shear process, together with the formation of the shear bands in different patterns. The contact normal anisotropy and contact force anisotropy show different evolution patterns when either α or b varies, resulting in the differences in the non-coaxiality and other macroscopic responses. This study improves the understanding of the macroscopic response of sand from a microscopic perspective and provides valuable insights for the constitutive modeling of sand.

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Keywords: Sand, Hollow cylinder torsional shear test (HCTST), Discrete element method (DEM), Principal stress rotation, Micromechanics, Anisotropy

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Shunxiang Song, Pei Wang, Zhenyu Yin, Yi Pik Cheng, 2024. Micromechanical modeling of hollow cylinder torsional shear test on sand using discrete element method. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 16 (12), 5193-5208.

Author(s) Information

Pei Wang

✉️ pei-cee.wang@polyu.edu.hk

Dr. Pei Wang works as a professor in East China Jiaotong University. He obtained his PhD degree in Geotechnical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019. His work focuses on the multi-scale computational modeling of (cemented) granular materials, micro-mechanical analysis of soil behavior, experimental and numerical analysis of particle breakage with XCT and DEM, soil–structure interface and size effect of granular materials. Dr. Wang has published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers in top journals and serves as a reviewer for several international journals.