Density Effect and Associated Unjamming Events on the Aging-Induced Stiffness Increase in Sand
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 18, Issue 12
Abstract
This paper reports the density effect on the aging-induced increase in soil stiffness based on discrete-element method (DEM) simulations conducted on dense, medium-dense, and loose samples for the study. Like experimental observations, among the three investigated, the medium-dense sample showed the highest aging rate in terms of the increase in the small-strain shear modulus. This finding was the result of competition between two opposite effects that coexist during aging: contact-force homogenization and unjamming events; both effects were relevant to the packing density. During aging, though a looser sample could undergo a greater homogenization of contact forces to give rise to a higher aging rate, it had a greater risk of experiencing unjamming event. This unjamming was accompanied by a sudden increase in the number of sliding contacts, which destroyed the aging-induced homogenization of the contact forces, and in turn, demolished the aging-induced stiffness increase. On the contrary, although a denser sample was less susceptible to the occurrence of unjamming events, it had less room to enable the contact forces to become more homogeneous during aging. As a result, eventually the medium-dense sample was revealed as having the greatest aging rate.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Project T22-603/15-N) and Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS). The authors are also grateful to the reviewers for their valuable comments. The writers are grateful to Professor Schmertmann for inspiring us to conduct this research and for giving us valuable comments.
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 18 • Issue 12 • December 2018
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© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Dec 14, 2017
Accepted: Jun 12, 2018
Published online: Oct 3, 2018
Published in print: Dec 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Mar 3, 2019
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