DEM Study on Particle Shape Evolution during Crushing of Granular Materials
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21, Issue 7
Abstract
Discrete element method (DEM) is widely used to simulate particle crushing, and the simulation results are further utilized for devising constitutive models for soils and rocks. However, particle shape evolution during the process of crushing is often neglected for brevity. In this study, one-dimensional (1D) compression on crushable granular materials is simulated using two-dimensional (2D) DEM to identify the specific role of evolving fragment shape during particle crushing on the macroscopic response. Two different particle crushing approaches are adopted here. In the first approach, grain crushing is mimicked by substituting parent particles with smaller particles once a breakage criterion is attained. In the second approach, a bonded agglomerate consisting of smaller particles is used instead of an intact particle, which breaks once the bond strength exceeds. The simulation results show that despite an equal amount of particle crushing at any given strain level, the axial stress–strain responses are different in the two approaches. On the other hand, the evolution of contact fabric anisotropy reduces, which increases the lateral stress. Further, the effect of particle shape on the limit compression response is also studied. The study finally proposes an exponential relationship between particle breakage and particle shape indicator during the comminution process.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, including (1) PFC Fish file and (2) MATLAB script for postprocessing DEM data.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Professor Animesh Das and Professor Anurag Tripathi from IIT Kanpur for the fruitful discussions, and the very useful comments by the anonymous reviewers that helped improve the article. Many thanks to the research scholar Mr. Soukat Kumar Das of IIT Kanpur for his support in DEM. The first author acknowledges CSIR [Grant No 22(0732)/17/EMR-II] for extending financial support for this study.
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21 • Issue 7 • July 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 1, 2020
Accepted: Feb 10, 2021
Published online: Apr 21, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Sep 21, 2021
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