DEM of triaxial tests on crushable cemented sand

Using the discrete element method, triaxial simulations of cemented sand consisting of crushable particles are presented. The triaxial model used features a flexible membrane, allowing realistic deformation to occur, and cementation is modelled using inter-particle bonds. The effects of particle crushing are explored, as is the influence of cementation on the behaviour of the soil. An insight to the effects that cementation has on the degree of crushing is presented

The influence of fines content and size-ratio on the micro-scale properties of dense bimodal materials

This paper considers factors influencing the fabric of bimodal or gap-graded soils. Discrete element method simulations were carried out in which the volumetric fines content and the size ratio between coarse and fine particles were systematically varied. Frictionless particles were used during isotropic compression to create dense samples; the coefficient of friction was then set to match that of spherical glass beads. The particle-scale data generated in the simulations revealed key size ratios and fines contents at which transitions in soil fabric occur. These transitions are identified from changes in the contact distributions and stress-transfer characteristics of the soils and by changes in the size of the void space between the coarse particles. The results are broadly in agreement with available experimental data on minimum void ratio and contact distributions. The results have implications for engineering applications including assessment of the internal stability of gap-graded soils in embankment dams and flood embankments

Modelling of hydraulic fracturing process by coupled discrete element and fluid dynamic methods

A three-dimensional model is presented and used to reproduce the laboratory hydraulic fracturing test performed on a thick-walled hollow cylinder limestone sample. This work aims to investigate the implications of the fluid flow on the behaviour of the micro-structure of the rock sample, including the material strength, its elastic constants and the initialisation and propagation of fractures. The replication of the laboratory test conditions has been performed based on the coupled Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics scheme. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The developed model closely validates the overall behaviour of the laboratory sample, providing a realistic overview of the cracking propagation towards total collapse as well as complying with Lame’s theory for thick-walled cylinders. This research aims to provide some insight into designing an accurate DEM model of a fracturing rock that can be used to predict its geo-mechanical behaviour during Enhanced Oil Recovery applications

A methodology for computing nonlinear fracture parameters for a bulging crack in a pressurised aircraft fuselage

A computational methodology for obtaining nonlinear fracture parameters which account for the effects of plasticity at the tips of a bulging crack in a pressurised aircraft fuselage is developed. The methodology involves a hierarchical three stage analysis (global, intermediate, and local) of the cracked fuselage, with the crack incorporated into the model at each stage. The global analysis is performed using a linear elastic shell finite element model in which the stiffeners are treated as beam elements. The geometrically nonlinear nature of the bulging phenomenon is emulated in the intermediate analysis using a geometrically nonlinear shell finite element model. The local analysis is a three-dimensional solid finite element model of the cracked skin using a hypoelastic-plastic rate formulation. Kinematic boundary conditions for each stage are obtained from the preceding stage in the hierarchy using a general mesh independent mechanism. The T*integral, which accounts for both large deformations and plasticity, is taken to be the fracture parameter characterising the severity of the conditions at the crack tip, and is evaluated from the local analysis using the Equivalent Domain Integral (EDI) method. The implementation of the EDI technique for finite deformations in shell space is also outlined. The methodology is applied to a number of example problems for which correction factors relating the nonlinear T* values to those obtained from a linear elastic stiffened shell analysis are computed. The issue of flapping is addressed by investigating the behaviour of the longitudinal stress parallel to the crack for various cases

Subsurface Geotechnical Parameters Report

The Yucca Mountain Project is entering a the license application (LA) stage in its mission to develop the nation's first underground nuclear waste repository. After a number of years of gathering data related to site characterization, including activities ranging from laboratory and site investigations, to numerical modeling of processes associated with conditions to be encountered in the future repository, the Project is realigning its activities towards the License Application preparation. At the current stage, the major efforts are directed at translating the results of scientific investigations into sets of data needed to support the design, and to fulfill the licensing requirements and the repository design activities. This document addresses the program need to address specific technical questions so that an assessment can be made about the suitability and adequacy of data to license and construct a repository at the Yucca Mountain Site. In July 2002, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published an Integrated Issue Resolution Status Report (NRC 2002). Included in this report were the Repository Design and Thermal-Mechanical Effects (RDTME) Key Technical Issues (KTI). Geotechnical agreements were formulated to resolve a number of KTI subissues, in particular, RDTME KTIs 3.04, 3.05, 3.07, and 3.19 relate to the physical, thermal and mechanical properties of the host rock (NRC 2002, pp. 2.1.1-28, 2.1.7-10 to 2.1.7-21, A-17, A-18, and A-20). The purpose of the Subsurface Geotechnical Parameters Report is to present an accounting of current geotechnical information that will help resolve KTI subissues and some other project needs. The report analyzes and summarizes available qualified geotechnical data. It evaluates the sufficiency and quality of existing data to support engineering design and performance assessment. In addition, the corroborative data obtained from tests performed by a number of research organizations is presented to reinforce conclusions derived from the pool of data gathered within a full QA-controlled domain. An evaluation of the completeness of the current data is provided with respect to the requirements for geotechnical data to support design and performance assessment