How granular materials deform in quasistatic conditions

Abstract

Based on numerical simulations of quasistatic deformation of model granular materials, two rheological regimes are distinguished, according to whether macroscopic strains merely reflect microscopic material strains within the grains in their contact regions (type I strains), or result from instabilities and contact network rearrangements at the microscopic level (type II strains). We discuss the occurrence of regimes I and II in simulations of model materials made of disks (2D) or spheres (3D). The transition from regime I to regime II in monotonic tests such as triaxial compression is different from both the elastic limit and from the yield threshold. The distinction between both types of response is shown to be crucial for the sensitivity to contact-level mechanics, the relevant variables and scales to be considered in micromechanical approaches, the energy balance and the possible occurrence of macroscopic instabilitie