On the micro mechanics of one-dimensional normal compression

Discrete-element modelling has been used to investigate the micro mechanics of one-dimensional compression. One-dimensional compression is modelled in three dimensions using an oedometer and a large number of particles, and without the use of agglomerates. The fracture of a particle is governed by the octahedral shear stress within the particle due to the multiple contacts and a Weibull distribution of strengths. Different fracture mechanisms are considered, and the influence of the distribution of fragments produced for each fracture on the global particle size distribution and the slope of the normal compression line is investigated. Using the discrete-element method, compression is related to the evolution of a fractal distribution of particles. The compression index is found to be solely a function of the strengths of the particles as a function of size

A new creep law for crushable aggregates

The authors have recently proposed a new equation for the one-dimensional (1D) normal compression line, which contains a parameter controlling the size effect on average strength. They showed that the equation held for a wide range of discrete-element modelling (DEM) simulations of crushable aggregates. This paper incorporates the time-dependence of particle strength. A new equation is proposed and examined using DEM of 1D creep. The simulations show that while the plots may seem linear on a plot of voids ratio against the logarithm of time in the traditional way, the new proposed law, which is linear when the voids ratio is also plotted on a logarithmic scale, is more appropriate. The simulations examine the influence of the size effect hardening law, the time dependence on strength and stress level. It is shown that the new equation holds for each case

Particle breakage criteria in discrete-element modelling

Previous work by the authors, using the discrete element method (DEM) has used the octahedral shear stress within a sphere together with a Weibull distribution of strengths and a size effect on average strength, to determine whether fracture occurs or not. This leads to fractal particle size distributions and a normal compression line which are consistent with experimental data. However there is no agreement in the literature as to what the fracture criterion should be and as yet it is not clear whether other criteria could lead to the correct evolution of voids ratio and particle size distribution under increasing stress. Various possibilities for the criterion have been studied in detail here to ascertain whether these other criteria may give the correct behaviour under normal compression. The use of the major principal stress within a particle, the mean stress, and the stress calculated from the maximum contact force on a particle are each investigated as alternatives to the octahedral shear stress. Only the criterion based on the maximum contact force is shown to give behaviour observed experimentally and the simulations shed further insight into the micro mechanics of normal compression

Discrete element modelling of rock communition in a cone crusher using a bonded particle model

It is known that discrete element method modelling (DEM) of rock size reduction can be achieved by two approaches: the population balance model (PBM) and the bonded particle model (BPM). However, only PBM has been successfully used in DEM modelling cone crusher in the literature. The aim of this paper is to explore the feasibility of using the BPM to represent the size reduction of rock experienced within the cone crusher chamber. The feed rock particles were represented by isotropic dense random packing agglomerates. The simulation results were compared with the PBM simulation results, and it was shown that the BPM cone crusher model was able to satisfactorily replicate the performance of a cone crusher as well and it can provide more accurate prediction of the percentage of the fine products. In addition, the novel contribution here is that the rock feed material comprises particles of realistic shapes which break into more realistically shaped fragments compared with the fragments with defined shapes in the PBM model

Discrete element modelling of creep of asphalt mixtures

Creep tests on asphalt mixtures have been undertaken under four stress levels in the laboratory while the Discrete Element Model (DEM) has been used to simulate the laboratory tests. A modified Burger’s model has been used to represent the time-dependent behaviour of an asphalt mixture by adding time-dependent moment and torsional resistance at contacts. Parameters were chosen to give the correct stress-strain response for constant strain rate tests in Cai et al. (2013) . The stress-strain response for the laboratory creep tests and the simulations were recorded. The DEM results show reasonable agreement with the experiments. The creep simulation results proved to be dependent on both bond strength variability and positions of the particles. Bond breakage was recorded during the simulations and used to investigate the micro-mechanical deformation behaviour of the asphalt mixtures. An approach based on dimensional analysis is also presented in this paper to reduce the computational time during the creep simulation, and this analysis is also a new contribution

Seismic performance of historical buildings based on discrete element method: an adobe church

This article presents the main concepts and the application of the discrete element method (DEM) for evaluating the seismic performance of historical buildings. Furthermore, the out-of-plane behavior of an adobe church with thick walls, in which the morphology of the cross-section can have an influence on the response, was evaluated by the DEM. The performance of rigid and deformable blocks models was compared, and the sensitivity of the numerical model to the variation of critical parameters was investigated. The results allowed the identification of the most vulnerable elements and a proposal of recommendations for reducing the seismic vulnerability