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Micromechanical investigation of the shear behaviors of sand‒rubber mixtures using a multibody meshfree method

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Abstract

This study investigates the effect of rubber content (RC) on the mechanical properties of sand‒rubber mixtures (SRMs) using a multibody meshfree approach, which permits faithful modeling of the deformation of rubber particles. A series of two-dimensional simple shear tests is performed on SRMs with different RC. The results indicate a decreased peak shear strength but an increased residual shear strength with increasing RC. The evolutions of microscopic features during shearing are examined. Both the coordination number and the contact length of SRMs progressively increase with RC owing to the deformation of rubber particles. The primary force transmission is sustained by sand particles for SRMs with smaller RC, but controlled by both sand and rubber particles with larger RC. The incorporation of rubber particles results in more uniformly distributed contact forces compared to the pure sand specimen. The particle kinematics reveals and explains the less vulnerability of SRMs to strain localization.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr. Guilhem Mollon for sending us the most recent version of MELODY that has been used in the study. The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52008409, 52078456), the Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangzhou (No. 202102020212), as well as the support of MOE Key Laboratory of Soft Soils and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (No. 2021FZZX001-14).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519082, Guangdong, China

    Z. Hu

  2. MOE Key Laboratory of Soft Soils and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Z. Hu, Y. H. Shi, N. Guo & Z. X. Yang

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Research Center of Urban Underground Space Development of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang, China

    Z. Hu, Y. H. Shi, N. Guo & Z. X. Yang

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  1. Z. Hu
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Correspondence to N. Guo.

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Hu, Z., Shi, Y.H., Guo, N. et al. Micromechanical investigation of the shear behaviors of sand‒rubber mixtures using a multibody meshfree method. Granular Matter 24, 73 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-022-01236-4

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