Abstract

We look at the inter-particle tangential force-displacement behaviour of various granular materials. The major experiments are carried out using a custom-built micromechanical loading apparatus, and the work focuses on microslip displacement. We show that the microslip displacement increases with the increase in normal force for all materials tested, and that extended threshold displacements are observed for rougher and softer grains [1-15].An analytical expression proposed in the literature is modified by incorporating material micro-hardness in a normalised form to create an expression that can be used in micromechanical-based analysis of geological materials problems.

Researchers have used micromechanical-based analyses to improve their understanding of the complex behaviour of granular materials such as soils and fractured rocks, as well as the analysis of large-scale and multiscale problemsThe discrete element method (DEM) (after is one of the most widely used micromechanical-based computational tools in geomechanics research and it has grown in popularity in recent decades.