Journal article
Bridging the length scales: Micromechanics of granular media
BIT Numerical Mathematics, Vol.44(3), pp.539-556
2004
Abstract
Aristotle's statement that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” aptly describes the essence of a granular material's rich and complex behaviour, which ultimately arises from internal mechanisms developed on many length scales. Recently, non-invasive experimental studies have given remarkable insight into the evolution of these mechanisms, thereby providing benchmarks and a unique opportunity for the theoretical modelling of these systems. This paper focuses on the challenges of capturing these multiscale mechanisms within the framework of continuum theory. In particular, a new approach toward developing a non-local micropolar constitutive model of granular media using micromechanics and internal variable theory is discussed. To demonstrate the predictive potential of these models, we present their application in the analysis of two fundamental problems to the mechanics of granular media: (i) formation and evolution of shear bands (the precursors of material failure), (ii) the classical Flamant problem. Finally, we briefly discuss the computational challenges in bridging the gap between micromechanical studies of granular media and the applications of continuum theory on the macro-scale via a finite element analysis of the flat punch problem. In practice, this problem is used to assess the load bearing capacity of a material and is fundamental to civil and structural engineering.
Details
- Title
- Bridging the length scales: Micromechanics of granular media
- Authors/Creators
- A. Tordesillas (Author/Creator) - The University of MelbourneS.D.C. Walsh (Author/Creator) - The University of MelbourneB.S. Gardiner (Author/Creator) - The University of Melbourne
- Publication Details
- BIT Numerical Mathematics, Vol.44(3), pp.539-556
- Publisher
- Springer
- Identifiers
- 991005540362607891
- Copyright
- © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Murdoch University
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
Metrics
37 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Citation topics
- 7 Engineering & Materials Science
- 7.139 Energy & Fuels
- 7.139.524 Fluidization
- Web Of Science research areas
- Computer Science, Software Engineering
- Mathematics, Applied
- ESI research areas
- Mathematics