Evolving pore orientation, shape and size in sheared granular assemblies
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10035_2018_Article_856.pdf
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2.43 MB
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Author(s)
Sufian, Adnan
Russell, Adrian R.
Whittle, Andrew
Date Issued
November 2018
Journal
Granular Matter
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Citation
Sufian, Adnan et al. "Evolving pore orientation, shape and size in sheared granular assemblies." Granular Matter 21 (February 2019): 4 © 2018 The Author(s)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This paper presents new insights into the deformation response of sheared granular assemblies by characterising pore space properties from discrete element simulations of monodisperse particle assemblies in two-way cyclic shearing. Individual pores are characterized by a modified Delaunay tessellation, where tetrahedral Delaunay cells can be merged to form polyhedral cells. This leads to a natural partition of the pore space between individual pores with tetrahedral and polyhedral geometry. These are representative of small compact pores and larger well-connected pores, respectively. A scalar measure of pore orientation anisotropy during shearing is introduced. For triaxial shearing, larger pores align in the loading direction, while small pores are aligned perpendicular to the larger pores. Pore anisotropy mobilises at a slower rate than contact anisotropy or macroscopic stress state, and hence, is an important element to characterise in granular assemblies. Further, the distribution of pore volume remains isotropic. Pore shape was found to be a good micro-scale indicator of macroscopic density, with a strong relationship between averaged shape factor and macroscopic void ratio. Combining results for pore shape and orientation reveals an interesting interplay, where large elongated pores were aligned with the loading direction. These results highlight the importance of considering pore space characteristics in understanding the behaviour of granular materials. Keywords: Pore characterisation; Pore geometry; Orientation tensor; Anisotropy; Shape factor
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-018-0856-4
