Strength of anisotropy in a granular material: Linear versus nonlinear contact model.

In this paper, we deal with anisotropy in an idealized granular material made of a collection of frictional, elastic, contacting particles. We present a theoretical analysis for an aggregate of particles isotropically compressed and then sheared, in which two possible contacts laws between particles are considered: a linear contact law, where the contact stiffness is constant; and a nonlinear contact law, where the contact stiffness depends on the overlapping between particles. In the former case the anisotropy observed in the aggregate is associated with particle arrangement.