Mesoscopic Analysis of the Compaction Characteristics of Rockfill Materials Considering Gradation and Shape
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 10
Abstract
The development of high rockfill dams has imposed greater demands on the compaction quality of rockfill materials. However, because rockfill particles are subjected to crushing under the compaction of a high-powered roller, the rockfill compaction characteristics might be affected. In this paper, a 3D discrete element model of the rockfill compaction process under vibration force was established to investigate the compaction characteristics and the mesoscopic mechanism of rockfill, considering gradation, shape, and particle breakage. The results showed that the geometric accuracy of rockfill particles is well maintained with 30-surface polyhedrons based on SHAPE simplification. The rockfill material with larger aspect ratios showed a larger final cumulative settlement ratio, while those with larger d50 showed a smaller ratio. Due to the combined effects of compaction and particle breakage, the porosity of the surface rockfill particles decreased more rapidly. As the settlement ratio increased and the porosity decreased, the coordination number of the rockfill material increased. In general, the average velocity of particle movement increased with decreasing particle size during compaction.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52079092).
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23 • Issue 10 • October 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 28, 2022
Accepted: Apr 23, 2023
Published online: Jul 18, 2023
Published in print: Oct 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Dec 18, 2023
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