Hydromechanical state of soil fluidisation: a microscale perspective

Abstract

This paper investigates soil fluidisation at the microscale using the discrete element method (DEM) in combination with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Numerical simulations were carried out at varying hydraulic gradients across the granular assembly of soil. The development of local hydraulic gradients, the contact distribution, and the associated fabric changes were investigated. Microscale findings suggest that a critical hydromechanical state inducing fluid-like instability of a granular assembly can be defined by a substantial increase in grain slip associated with a rapid reduction in interparticle contacts. Based on these results, a new micromechanical criterion is proposed to characterise the transformation of granular soil from a hydromechanically stable to an unstable state. The constraint ratio (ratio of the number of constraints to the number of degrees of freedom) is introduced to portray the relative slippage between particles and the loss of interparticle contacts within the granular fabric. Its magnitude of unity corresponds to the condition of zero effective stress, representing the critical hydromechanical state. In practical terms, the results of this study reflect the phenomenon of subgrade mud pumping that occurs in railways when heavy-haul trains pass through at certain axle loads and speeds.