Visualization of force networks in 2D dense granular materials

Abstract

Dense granular matter is a conglomeration of discrete solid and closely packed particles. As subjected to external loadings, the stress is largely transmitted by heavily stressed chains of particles forming a sparse network of larger contact forces. To understand the structure and evolution of force chains, a photoelastic technique was improved for determining stresses and strains in the assemblies of photoelastic granular disks in this paper. A two-dimensional vertical slab was designed. It contains 7200 polydispersed photoelastic disks and is subjected to a localized probe penetrating at the top of the slab to mimic the cone penetration test. The interparticle contact force distribution was found a peak around the mean value, a roughly exponential tail for greater force and a dip toward zero for smaller force. The force chain network around the probe tip was depicted, and the contact angle distribution of particles in force chains was found to be well aligned in the directions of major principal stress.