Microscale Characterization of Energy Dissipation Mechanisms in Granular Soils

This paper utilizes the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to characterize energy dissipation mechanisms in cyclically loaded soils based on micromechanical considerations. Computational simulations of consolidated undrained (CU) cyclic triaxial tests were conducted at various relative densities and were subjected to cyclic loading of different frequencies and shear strain amplitudes. The different components of microscale energies were monitored during the course of the simulations and characterized into input and dissipated energies. A comparison is made between the dissipated energy computed from microscopic energy components and macroscopic energy calculated based on the area of the deviator stress-axial strain loops.