Granular Matter最新文献

The corn variety “Zhenghong 507”, which is widely cultivated in hilly and mountainous areas of Southwest China, was assigned as the research object. The discrete element model of the mid-section of the corn ear that can be threshed was established by integrating the Hertz-Mindlin with the bonding V2 contact model, and the crucial bonding parameters were simulated and calibrated. With the measured normal threshing force (6.34 N) and tangential threshing force (4.75 N) of a single kernel as target values, the parameters of bonding characteristics between the kernel and the cob of corn ear were screened and optimized for significance via the Placket-Burman test, steepest ascent test, and the central composite design. The results indicate that the optimal parameter combinations for the normal stiffness and shear stiffness per unit area, normal strength, shear strength, contact radius between kernels, contact radius between cobs, and bonded disk scale were 3.4 × 10⁸ N·m⁻³, 2.238 × 10⁸ N·m⁻³, 0.6 × 10⁶ Pa, 0.364 × 10⁶ Pa, 1.87 mm, 16.5 mm and 1.321. Finally, the accuracy of the corn ear DEM model was validated by comparing the simulation to the physical test using the threshing rate as an evaluation index combined with the quality distribution of kernels after threshing.

Graphical Abstract

Calibration and validation of a corn ear bonded model.

The spring-dashpot-slider is a common way to include solid friction for discrete element method simulations of granular matter. However, the most popular model that is currently in use has a number of problems, including the spontaneous creation of energy. The main cause for these problems is the discontinuous evolution of the spring displacement. In this paper, we derive a differential equation for the displacement that yields a continuous time evolution, that fixes the problems of the discontinuous model and is simpler to implement.

Suffusion severely threatens the stability of granular soils supporting infrastructure. While the geometric conditions of the granular soils are intrinsic to their mechanical behavior, their influences on the suffusion characteristics have not been fully understood. This study presents a micro-macro investigation of the suffusion characteristics of gap-graded soils with different fines contents and particle size ratios using the coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method (CFD-DEM). The severity of the suffusion was quantified by both the loss of fines by mass and the volumetric deformation of the specimen. Meanwhile, Voronoi tessellation and weighted Delaunay method were employed to analyze the evolution of pore structures. The evolution of different contact types was used to analyze the rearrangement of the specimen skeleton. The simulation results show that suffusion is aggravated under otherwise identical conditions with an increase in particle size ratio and fines content. The particle size ratio influences the local pore difference between coarse and fine particles, while the fines content influences the fines’ contribution to the soil skeleton. The evolution of the distribution of local void fractions, constriction size distributions, stress-reduction factors, different types of coordination numbers, and different types of contact forces provides useful insights into the microscopic mechanism of the suffusion process.

The deformation of rockfill materials is mostly caused by particle breakage and subsequent skeleton adjustment. To investigate the effect of size and strain rate on particle strength under seismic load, a series of single particle crushing tests with different sizes and loading rates were conducted. The results show that the particle strength increases with the loading rate, while the size effect on particle strength gradually weakens. Furthermore, within the framework of the weakest chain theory, the failure probability per unit volume and the spatial location distribution of microcracks are discussed, and a statistical model for quasi-static particle strength is established. The spatial location of microcracks follows a power law distribution, and there is a specific power exponent at different strain rates, so that the compound parameters of the particle volume and failure probability are gathered on a master curve determined by the weakest chain statistics. The strain rate effect reduces the failure probability per unit volume and makes the spatial location distribution of microcracks sparser.

The spreading behaviour of cohesive sand powder is modelled by Discrete Element Method, and the spreadability and the mechanical jamming are focused. The empty patches and total particle volume of the spread layer are examined, followed by the analysis of the geometry force and jamming structure. The results show that several empty patches with different size and shapes could be observed within the spread layer along the spreading direction even when the gap height increases to 3.0D₉₀. Large particles are more difficult to be spread onto the base due to jamming, although their size is smaller than the gap height. Size segregation of particles occurs before particles entering the gap between the blade and base. There are almost no particles on the smooth base when the gap height is small, due to the full-slip flow of particles. The difference of the spread layer and spreadability between the cases with rough and smooth base is reduced by the increase of the gap height. An interesting correlation between jamming effect and local defects (empty spaces) in the powder layer is identified. The resistance to particle rolling is important for the mechanical jamming reported in this work. The jammed particles with a larger size ratio tend to be more stable.

The study of gravity retaining wall supporting cohesionless soil is performed using the discrete element software Particle Flow Code (PFC), with emphasis on three-dimensional analysis at the grain scale, covering the transition from the initial state to the active state. The soil particles are represented by spherical balls and the rolling resistance linear contact model is used to include the shape effect. The rigid balls are connected by linear parallel bond contact model with a specified strength and stiffness to replicate the physical characteristics of retaining wall. The domain size is reduced by using high g criteria and scaling laws to enhance computational efficiency. The earth pressure coefficient obtained from the present study is compared with the existing analytical and experimental solutions. It is concluded that widely used Coulomb and Rankine methods underestimate the active earth pressure. The total earth thrust acting on the gravity wall is 67.3 kN/m acting at 0.301H above the wall base. The initial state shows a decrease in average coordination number from 5.0 to 3.3 at wall top indicating the debonding of grains and simultaneous decrease in density. In addition, the force chain distribution, porosity, lateral displacement, and axial displacement are investigated. A correlation between the earth pressure coefficient and lateral displacement is also established. The discrete analysis provided valuable insights into the particle-level mechanisms underlying the overall behavior of the retaining wall, contributing to a better understanding of its continuum response.

Graphical Abstract

In DEM simulations of triaxial tests, modelling a flexible lateral membrane is crucial and challenging. It is essential for the correct application of a uniform lateral pressure and for an accurate measurement of sample volume. Here, we introduce a membrane made of triangular facets, and model it as a continuum; we then compare this approach with a well-established method that uses a layer of bonded spheres. With either method, it is also possible to assess the additional stress applied by the membrane as it deforms, i.e. the difference between the stress applied at the boundary and the actual stress within the sample. It is shown that this difference has two origins: the tension developed in the membrane, as it deforms; and the curvature of the membrane, since this causes a vertical component of the confining pressure which can be significant. These findings may be used to inform and improve the membrane correction commonly used in experiments, where similar effects occur.

Graphic abstract