Contact networks and force transmission in aggregates of hexapod-shaped particles.

Hexapods, consisting of three mutually orthogonal arms, have been utilized as a representative nonconvex shape to demonstrate the impact of interlocking on the strength properties of granular materials. Nevertheless, the microstructural characteristics of hexapod packings, which underlie their strength, have remained insufficiently characterized. We use particle dynamics simulations to build isotropically-packed aggregates of hexapods and we analyze the effects of aspect ratio and interparticle friction on the microstructure and force transmission.

Evolution of wet agglomerates inside inertial shear flow of dry granular materials.

We use particle dynamics simulations to investigate the evolution of a wet agglomerate inside homogeneous shear flows of dry particles. The agglomerate is modeled by introducing approximate analytical expressions of capillary and viscous forces between particles in addition to frictional contacts. During shear flow, the agglomerate may elongate, break, or be eroded by loss of its capillary bonds and primary particles.

Additive rheology of complex granular flows.

Granular flows are omnipresent in nature and industrial processes, but their rheological properties such as apparent friction and packing fraction are still elusive when inertial, cohesive and viscous interactions occur between particles in addition to frictional and elastic forces. Here we report on extensive particle dynamics simulations of such complex flows for a model granular system composed of perfectly rigid particles. We show that, when the apparent friction and packing fraction are normalized by their cohesion-dependent quasistatic values, they are governed by a single dimensionless number that, by virtue of stress additivity, accounts for all interactions.

Compaction of elastic granular materials: inter-particles friction effects and plastic events.

The uni-axial compaction of granular materials made of elastic neo-Hookean particles is investigated in the quasi-static regime. Two-dimensional disk assemblies are simulated using the Finite Element model coupled with Contact Dynamics method for dealing both with finite deformations of the particles and contact interactions. Due to large deformations of the particles, the packing fraction of the system increases continuously during the compaction process, reaching values close to 1.

Agglomeration of wet particles in dense granular flows.

In order to get insight into the wet agglomeration process, we numerically investigate the growth of a single granule inside a dense flow of an initially homogeneous distribution of wet and dry particles. The simulations are performed by means of the discrete element method and the binding liquid is assumed to be transported by the wet particles, which interact via capillary and viscous force laws. The granule size is found to be an exponential function of time, reflecting the conservation of the amount of liquid and the decrease of the number of available wet particles inside the flow during agglomeration.

Numerical simulations of the compaction of assemblies of rubberlike particles: A quantitative comparison with experiments.

Using the contact dymanics method together with the finite element method, we simulate the uniaxial compression of assemblies of elastic cylinders. The numerical model accounts for finite deformations of the particles through the neo-Hookean constitutive equation and solid friction between the particles. A quantitative comparison with experiments carried out with centimetric rubberlike cylinders, with local deformations of the particles determined by image correlation, is proposed.