Assessing continuum postulates in simulations of granular flow
Name
Bazant Assessing Continuum rev for upload.pdf
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3.47 MB
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Author(s)
Rycroft, Chris H.
Kamrin, Kenneth N.
Bazant, Martin Z.
Date Issued
May 2009
Journal
Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
Rycroft, Chris H., Ken Kamrin, and Martin Z. Bazant. “Assessing continuum postulates in simulations of granular flow.” Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 57.5 (2009): 828-839.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Continuum mechanics relies on the fundamental notion of a mesoscopic volume “element” in which properties averaged over discrete particles obey deterministic relationships. Recent work on granular materials suggests that a continuum law may be inapplicable, revealing inhomogeneities at the particle level, such as force chains and slow cage breaking. Here, we analyze large-scale three-dimensional discrete-element method (DEM) simulations of different granular flows and show that an approximate “granular element” defined at the scale of observed dynamical correlations (roughly three to five particle diameters) has a reasonable continuum interpretation. By viewing all the simulations as an ensemble of granular elements which deform and move with the flow, we can track material evolution at a local level. Our results confirm some of the hypotheses of classical plasticity theory while contradicting others and suggest a subtle physical picture of granular failure, combining liquid-like dependence on deformation rate and solid-like dependence on strain. Our computational methods and results can be used to guide the development of more realistic continuum models, based on observed local relationships between average variables.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2009.01.009
