Constitutive Model for Brittle Granular Materials Considering Competition between Breakage and Dilation
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 146, Issue 1
Abstract
A constitutive model is presented for brittle granular materials based on a recent reformulation of the breakage mechanics theory. The primary objective of the study is to capture peak strength with subsequent strain softening in dilatant specimens under shearing and the simultaneous evolution of breakage and dilation. The predictive performance of the model is assessed relative to two experimental datasets from the literature. The influence of the model parameters on the overall material response is described through a detailed calibration procedure based on a benchmark experimental dataset. Comparison of the results of drained triaxial compression experiments on two sands with the predictions of the model indicates that the enriched model can successfully capture the evolution of stress-strain behavior at different confinement levels. The predicted response of dilatant specimens exhibits stress- and density-dependent peak strength and strain softening toward the critical state, which is in agreement with experimental evidence. The simulations of Kurnell sand can reproduce the transition of the volumetric strain from to 0.14 as the confining pressure increases from 760 to 7,800 kPa. The predicted breakage of specimens subjected to different confining pressures is slightly higher than experimental measurements, whereas they exhibit similar trends. The proposed framework is capable of qualitatively reproducing many aspects of the experimentally observed stress-dilatancy-breakage relationship in brittle granular materials.
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Acknowledgments
Research was sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory and was accomplished under Cooperative Agreement No. W911NF-12-2-0022. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Army Research Laboratory or the US Government. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation herein.
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Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 146 • Issue 1 • January 2020
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©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 16, 2019
Accepted: Apr 30, 2019
Published online: Oct 28, 2019
Published in print: Jan 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Mar 28, 2020
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