DEM Simulations of Wave Propagation in Dry Granular Soils

In this study, a particle-based technique utilizing the discrete element method (DEM) is proposed to model wave propagation in a dry soil column. Computational simulations were conducted to investigate the soil response to sinusoidal motions with different amplitudes and frequencies. Three types of soil deposits with different void ratios to represent the behavior of loose, medium, and dense sands were employed in these simulations. The computational approach was able to capture a number of essential characteristics of wave propagation including motion amplification and resonance. Dynamic soil properties were then extracted from these simulations and used to predict the response of the soil using the widely used equivalent linear method program SHAKE and compare its predictions to DEM results. Based on this comparison, at a frequency close to the resonance frequency of the deposit, significant discrepancy between SHAKE predictions and DEM results was observed.