A theory for multiple collisions of rigid solids and numerical simulation of granular flow

Abstract

Granular materials such as soils are often modeled as a collection of discrete bodies. In this paper we apply a strategy for soil modeling which is based on a discretization of the media with rigid polygons: a mechanical description of instantaneous collisions, based on the principle of virtual work is presented. Finally, a numerical example based on the proposed theory is treated. A package of randomly generated particles has been arranged on a skid, simulating the behaviour of a landslide.