The Evaluation of the Parallel Bond’s Properties in DEM Modeling of Soils

Abstract

In this study we conducted the sensitivity analysis of the parallel bond used in the discrete element method (DEM, 3D) based soil model. We researched those parameters which simulate real soil physique attributes. In our investigations we modeled the inhomogeneity by the differentiation in particle size, the soil moisture condition by the parallel bond’s radius R, the cracking tendency by the bonding stiffnesses kⁿ, k^s and the air phase by the pore volume of the particle block. We based the validation of the simulation on the results of the simple direct shear box test which were performed in laboratory environment. We analyzed the effect of micromechanical and macromechanical parameters, used in the modeled particle block, with the use of direct shear box and triaxial shear simulations. After the recalculation of micromechanical parameters (E_C, Ē_C, γ) we analyzed the effect of the adjustable macromechanical parameters (k_n, k_s ,λ, kⁿ, k^s, σ_C, τ_C) used in the block with triaxial shear simulation. Based on the comparison of the shear simulations’ results the accuracy of the recalculation of the parallel bond’s micro-macro parameters is proved by the good correlation of the Coulomb failure criterion lines (σ-τ).