Considered is a sample of cohesionless granular material, in which the individual granules are regarded rigid, and which is subjected to overall macroscopic average stresses. On the basis of the principle of virtual work, and by an examination of the manner by which adjacent granules transmit forces through their contacts, a general representation is established for the macroscopic stresses in terms of the volume average of the (tensorial) product of the contact forces and the vectors which connect the centroids of adjacent contacting granules. Then the corresponding kinematics is examined and the overall macroscopic deformation rate and spin tensors are developed in terms of the volume average of relevant microscopic kinematical variables. As an illustration of the application of the general expressions developed, two explicit macroscopic results are deduced: (1) a dilatancy equation which both qualitatively and quantitatively seems to be in accord with experimental observation, and (2) a noncoaxiality equation which seems to support the vertex plasticity model. Since the development is based on a microstructural consideration, all material coefficients entering the results have well-defined physical interpretations.
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June 1981
Research Papers
A Micromechanical Description of Granular Material Behavior
J. Christoffersen,
J. Christoffersen
Department of Solid Mechanics, The Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Lyngby, Denmark
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M. M. Mehrabadi,
M. M. Mehrabadi
Department of Civil Engineering, The Technological Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. 60201
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S. Nemat-Nasser
S. Nemat-Nasser
Department of Civil Engineering, The Technological Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. 60201
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J. Christoffersen
Department of Solid Mechanics, The Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Lyngby, Denmark
M. M. Mehrabadi
Department of Civil Engineering, The Technological Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. 60201
S. Nemat-Nasser
Department of Civil Engineering, The Technological Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. 60201
J. Appl. Mech. Jun 1981, 48(2): 339-344 (6 pages)
Published Online: June 1, 1981
Article history
Received:
March 1, 1980
Revised:
August 1, 1980
Online:
July 21, 2009
Citation
Christoffersen, J., Mehrabadi, M. M., and Nemat-Nasser, S. (June 1, 1981). "A Micromechanical Description of Granular Material Behavior." ASME. J. Appl. Mech. June 1981; 48(2): 339–344. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3157619
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