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DEM Simulation of Liquefaction for Granular Media under Undrained Axisymmetric Compression and Plane Strain Conditions

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Abstract

Based on three dimensional (3D) Discrete Element Method (DEM), the paper presents simulation results of undrained tests on loose assemblies of polydisperse spheres under axisymmetric compression and plane strain conditions using a periodic cell. In the present work, undrained tests were modelled by deforming the samples under constant volume conditions. The undrained (effective) stress paths are shown to be qualitatively similar to experimental results in literature. A microscopic parameter in terms of redundancy factor (RF) is used to identify the onset of liquefaction (or temporary liquefaction), with the condition of RF equal to unity defining the transition from ‘solid-like’ to ‘liquid-like’ behaviour. It is found that the undrained behaviour is governed by the evolution of redundancy factor under both undrained axisymmetric compression and plane strain conditions, and a reversal of deviatoric stress in stress path for medium loose systems occurs due to the fact that the system becomes a structural mechanism (RF < 1) transiently at the microscopic level during the evolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China

    Guobin Gong & Peng Lin

  2. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Guobin Gong

  3. School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Yawei Qin

  4. Hubei Key Laboratory of Control Structure, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Yawei Qin

  5. School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410004, China

    Jun Wei

Authors
  1. Guobin Gong
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  2. Peng Lin
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  3. Yawei Qin
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  4. Jun Wei
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guobin Gong or Peng Lin.

Additional information

Project supported by the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation, China (No. 10151503101000006) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK (No. GR/R91588). The authors would also like to thank Prof. Andrew Chan and Dr. Colin Thornton, both from University of Birmingham, UK, for their guidance and discussion on the relevant work.

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Gong, G., Lin, P., Qin, Y. et al. DEM Simulation of Liquefaction for Granular Media under Undrained Axisymmetric Compression and Plane Strain Conditions. Acta Mech. Solida Sin. 25, 562–570 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0894-9166(12)60051-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0894-9166(12)60051-2

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