Micromechanical Analysis of the Shear Behavior of a Granular Material

A distinct element analysis of the behavior of a granular material was performed by simulating direct shear tests of a dense and a loose 2D sample of 1,050 cylinders. Macroscopic results exhibit typical features of the shear response of granular materials: a perfect plasticity state that does not depend on the initial density, a peak stress and a dilatant behavior in the case of the dense sample, and a contractant behavior of the loose sample. A micromechanical analysis of the shear behavior was carried out based on the simulation results. Using the particle displacements and rotations, a shear band is located within the sample. Special attention is focused on the evolution of particle/particle contact orientation as well as on the direction of particle/particle contact forces. The shear process induces a clear change of contact and contact force orientations. A strong correlation between the induced anisotropy of the microstructure and the macroscopic loading is evident in the simulation results.