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Investigating the effects of Fourier-based particle shape on the shear behaviors of rockfill material via DEM

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Abstract

This report investigates the effects of Fourier-based particle shape on the macroscopic and microscopic shear responses of rockfill material via a series of numerical biaxial compression tests. The multi-disk method is employed to model two-dimensional irregular rockfill particles. The macroscopic characteristics, including the shear strength and the dilatancy response, and the microscopic characteristics, including the contact force, the coordination number and the sliding contact, are examined. Then, detailed analyses of the fabric anisotropy of the entire contact network empower us to understand the microscopic mechanisms that lead to the dependency of the shear strength on particle shape. Subsequently, analyses concerning the fabric anisotropy of the strong and weak contact networks are carried out. It is found that the macroscopic stress ratio exhibits a linear pattern with the anisotropic coefficient of contacts in the strong contact network, and that the slope depends on particle shape.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51478481 and 51809292), Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project: Research and Application of Design and Construction Technology of Railway Engineering Traveling the Rift Valley (No. Z181100003918005) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University (No. 2018zzts195). The authors would like to express their appreciation for the financial assistance.

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  1. School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410075, China

    Zhihong Nie, Yangui Zhu, Xiang Wang & Jian Gong

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  1. Zhihong Nie
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Correspondence to Jian Gong.

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Nie, Z., Zhu, Y., Wang, X. et al. Investigating the effects of Fourier-based particle shape on the shear behaviors of rockfill material via DEM. Granular Matter 21, 22 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-019-0875-9

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