Particle shape effect on the mechanical properties of the granular material using novel 3D angular ellipsoid

Abstract

Particle shape has long been a key issue for engineering. However, the underlying microscopic mechanism of this effect is not well understood, and thus the connection between the particle shape and mechanical behaviour of the particulate system remains empirical and qualitative. This study intends to obtain desired shape descriptors that govern the mechanical behaviour of a granular material at the particulate level and deduce a possible underlying micro-macro relationship between the particle shape parameters and the mechanical characteristics of the assembly of the particles. A modified open-source 3D discrete element code, Yade is used to simulate a series of tri-axial compression tests on specimens composed of angular ellipsoids. The mechanical behaviour such as the shear strength, the anti-deformation ability are obtained. The results show that the shear strength increases with the angularity. However it first increases then drops with the increase of the aspect ratio. The anti-deformation ability decreases with the increase of the aspect ratio and angularity. This study provides insight into the micro-macro relationship between mechanical properties and particle shape parameters.