Summary.
The paper presents the results of a numerical analysis, carried out by using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and aimed at reproducing a series of tests on a small-scale laboratory model of a slope. Particular attention is devoted to the validation of DEM when used for the prediction of the run-out distance and of the impact force on obstacles. The soil used for the small-scale model is a mono-granular medium sand, which revealed to be particularly suitable to simulate flows like debris or rock avalanches. The experimental set-up comprises a flume equipped with a system of differently sized instrumented obstacles. The numerical model of the granular flow has been calibrated on the basis of the displacement measurements, obtained through a photogrammetric technique.
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Author’s address: Roberto Valentino, Department of Civil, Environmental, Territorial Engineering and Architecture, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma, Italy
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Valentino, R., Barla, G. & Montrasio, L. Experimental Analysis and Micromechanical Modelling of Dry Granular Flow and Impacts in Laboratory Flume Tests. Rock Mech Rock Eng 41, 153–177 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-006-0126-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-006-0126-3