Title of Research:
Experimental and Numerical Assessment of Sample Heterogeneity on Failure Mechanism Using Granular Materials
Description of Research:
Previous studies have shown that sample preparation techniques used to reconstruct specimens for granular materials can have substantial influence on their mechanistic behavior. The air-pluviation method was used to reconstitute samples composed of a homogeneous granular material at different density conditions. Random prepared samples were taken to perform triaxial compression tests in order to obtain the global strength behavior of the specimen under compression loading. X-ray computed tomography (CT) and image analysis techniques were later used to characterize the spatial particle structure of a sample. The sample preparation method and compression test were modeled numerically using discrete element method (DEM) via a program called PFC3D from ITASCA. The microstructure of the numerical sample was compared to the results of the image analysis to determine if the heterogeneity of the sample could be accurately replicated in DEM.
