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DEM analysis of micro-structural events within granular shear zones under passive earth pressure conditions

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Abstract

Shear zones in initially medium dense cohesionless sand for quasi-static earth pressure problem of a small-scale retaining wall were analysed with a discrete element method (DEM) using spheres with contact moments. The passive sand failure for a very rough retaining wall undergoing horizontal translation was discussed. The DEM calculations were carried out with the different mean grain diameter. Micro-structural events appearing within granular shear zones such as: vortices, force chains, vortex structures and local void ratio fluctuations were investigated. Special attention was laid on a vortex-force chain correlation and frequency of the vortex appearance. The calculated geometry of shear zones was compared with experimental results of laboratory model tests analyzed using the DIC. DEM demonstrated its ability to describe the geometry of shear localization in sand behind the retaining wall and to follow the evolution of micro-structure in granular shear zones.

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Acknowledgments

The research work has been carried out as a part of the Project 2011/03/B/ST8/05865 “Experimental and theoretical investigations of micro-structural phenomena inside strain localization in granular materials” financed by Polish National Research Centre (NCN) in the time period 2013–2015. The project was approved in the end of 2012 by the review board of Polish National Research Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland

    M. Nitka, J. Tejchman & J. Kozicki

  2. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental and Geodetic Sciences, Koszalin University of Technology, Koszalin, Poland

    D. Leśniewska

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  1. M. Nitka
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  2. J. Tejchman
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  3. J. Kozicki
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  4. D. Leśniewska
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Correspondence to J. Tejchman.

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Nitka, M., Tejchman, J., Kozicki, J. et al. DEM analysis of micro-structural events within granular shear zones under passive earth pressure conditions. Granular Matter 17, 325–343 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-015-0558-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-015-0558-0

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