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Reducing the anisotropy of a Brazilian disc generated in a bonded-particle model

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Abstract

The Brazilian test is a widely used method for determining the tensile strength of rocks and for calibrating parameters in bonded-particle models (BPMs). In previous studies, the Brazilian disc has typically been trimmed from a compacted rectangular specimen. The present study shows that different tensile strength values are obtained depending on the compressive loading direction. Several measures are proposed to reduce the anisotropy of the disc. The results reveal that the anisotropy of the disc is significantly influenced by the compactibility of the specimen from which it is trimmed. A new method is proposed in which the Brazilian disc is directly generated with a particle boundary, effectively reducing the anisotropy. The stiffness (particle and bond) and strength (bond) of the boundary are set at less than and greater than those of the disc assembly, respectively, which significantly decreases the stress concentration at the boundary contacts and prevents breakage of the boundary particle bonds. This leads to a significant reduction in the anisotropy of the disc and the discreteness of the tensile strength. This method is more suitable for carrying out a realistic Brazilian test for homogeneous rock-like material in the BPM.

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Acknowledgements

Support provided by the National Basic Research Program of China (2015CB258500, 2015CB058102, 2014CB046904) is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. The Key Laboratory of Safety for Geotechnical and Structural Engineering of Hubei Province, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Q. Zhang, X. P. Zhang & P. Q. Ji

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  1. Q. Zhang
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  2. X. P. Zhang
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Correspondence to X. P. Zhang.

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Zhang, Q., Zhang, X.P. & Ji, P.Q. Reducing the anisotropy of a Brazilian disc generated in a bonded-particle model. Acta Mech. Sin. 34, 716–727 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-018-0754-3

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