3D DEM Simulation of Crushable Granular Soils under Plane Strain Compression Condition

摘要

Particle crushing plays an important role on the mechanical behavior of crushable granular soils. In this paper, the macro- and micro-mechanical behaviors of dense granular soils composed of crushable agglomerates in plane strain compression test are investigated using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). A detailed study on the effects of particle crushing on the soil behavior is facilitated by a comparison between the simulation results of crushable and uncrushable specimens. The DEM results show a strong dependency of particle crushing on the confining stress level. It is found that under low confining stresses, particle crushing is insignificant and does not affect the shear band formation, which is the primary failure mode in an uncrushable specimen. However, under high confining stresses, significant particle crushing occurs and leads to considerable volumetric compression and reduction of the peak shear stress ratio. More importantly, particle crushing interferes with the formation of shear band and results in massive contractive zones in the specimen, which essentially controls the shear strength behavior.