Micro-structure in particulate media: A lattice type approach

Abstract

The behavior of particulate media, in contrast to the behavior of continuous media, is governed by the interaction of particles/grains at contacts. The current approach to model particulate media is through a disc model assembly composed of rigid discs linked by normal and tangential springs at contacts. In this project, a novel approach using a lattice type model is investigated. The mathematical concepts related to the formulation of the lattice model are developed and are numerically implemented by a computer code. Numerical experiments were conducted on a two dimensional assembly of spheres subjected to a vertical load and a simple shear strain. The results of numerical simulation are in general agreement with observations from simple shear tests.