Abstract
The stiffness degradation of granular materials such as soils due to cyclic loading has been widely explored in the experimental studies, mostly in triaxial or oedometer apparatus. Such behaviour can be observed due to the cyclic loading at very small strains, which is considered as elastic range. While increasing the cyclic strain amplitude, the stiffness or secant shear modulus (G) reduces non-linearly and forms a S-shaped curve with the shear strain (γ). A discrete element method (DEM) is adopted in this study to have enhance the understanding of soil response to cyclic strain amplitude. It was found later in this study that the stiffness of granular material reduced as void ratio (e) increased. The maximum stiffness was highly dependent on e, but not p′. However, the normalized stiffness degradation curve was influenced by both initial states i.e. e and p′; p′ seemingly had more impact of the normalized stiffness degradation than e.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Been, K., Jefferies, M.G.: A state parameter for sands. Géotechnique 35(2), 99–112 (1985)
Cundall, P.A., Strack, O.D.: A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies. Geotechnique 29(1), 47–65 (1979)
Goudarzy, M., Rahemi, N., Rahman, M.M., Schanz, T.: Predicting the maximum shear modulus of sands containing nonplastic fines. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143(9), 06017013 (2017)
Goudarzy, M., Rahman, M.M., König, D., Schanz, T.: Influence of non-plastic fines content on maximum shear modulus of granular materials. Soils Found. 56(6), 973–983 (2016)
Gu, X., Yang, J., Huang, M.: DEM simulations of the small strain stiffness of granular soils: effect of stress ratio. Granular Matter 15(3), 287–298 (2013)
Hardin, B.O., Richart Jr., F.: Elastic wave velocities in granular soils. J. Soil Mech. Found. Div, 89(Proc. Paper 3407) (1963)
Huang, X., O’Sullivan, C., Hanley, K., Kwok, C.: Discrete-element method analysis of the state parameter. Geotechnique 64(12), 954–965 (2014)
Idriss, I.M., Dobry, R., Sing, R.: Nonlinear behavior of soft clays during cyclic loading. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 104(ASCE 14265) (1978)
Nguyen, H.B.K., Rahman, M.M.: The role of micro-mechanics on the consolidation history of granular materials. Aust. Geomech. 52(3), 27–36 (2017)
Nguyen, H.B.K., Rahman, M.M., Cameron, D.A., Fourie, A.B.: The effect of consolidation path on undrained behaviour of sand - a DEM approach. In: Computer Methods and Recent Advances in Geomechanics, pp. 175–180. CRC Press (2015)
Nguyen, H.B.K., Rahman, M.M., Fourie, A.B.: Characteristic behaviour of drained and undrained triaxial tests: a DEM study. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 144(9), 04018060 (2018a)
Nguyen, H.C., O’Sullivan, C., Otsubo, M.: Discrete element method analysis of small-strain stiffness under anisotropic stress states. Géotechnique Lett. 8(3), 183–189 (2018b)
Rahman, M.M., Cubrinovski, M., Lo, S.R.: Initial shear modulus of sandy soils and equivalent granular void ratio. Geomech. Geoengin. 7(3), 219–226 (2012)
Rahman, M.M., Nguyen, H.B.K., Rabbi, A.T.M.Z.: The effect of consolidation on undrained behaviour of granular materials: a comparative study between experiment and DEM simulation. Geotech. Res. 5(4), 199–217 (2018)
Vucetic, M., Dobry, R.: Degradation of marine clays under cyclic loading. J. Geotech. Eng. 114(2), 133–149 (1988)
Yang, J., Dai, B.: Is the quasi-steady state a real behaviour? A micromechanical perspective. Géotechnique 61, 175 (2011)
Yang, J., Gu, X.: Shear stiffness of granular material at small strains: does it depend on grain size? Géotechnique 63(2), 165 (2013)
Zhao, J., Guo, N.: Unique critical state characteristics in granular media considering fabric anisotropy. Géotechnique 63(8), 695–704 (2013)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mizanur Rahman, M., Nguyen, H.B.K., Wang, HC. (2020). Stiff Degradation of Granular Material – A DEM Approach. In: Shehata, H., Das, B., Selvadurai, A., Fayed, A. (eds) Advanced Numerical Methods in Foundation Engineering. GeoMEast 2019. Sustainable Civil Infrastructures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34193-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34193-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34192-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-34193-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)