DEM-Aided Discovery of the Relationship between Energy Dissipation and Shear Band Formation Considering the Effects of Particle Rolling Resistance

The importance of particle rolling resistance to the mechanical behavior of granular materials is well recognized and has been a topic subject to intensive discrete element method (DEM) investigation over the last two decades. However, little effort has been made to explore the energy input and dissipation behavior under the influence of varying degrees of interparticle rolling resistance, especially in relation to the development of shear band. This paper aims to eliminate this deficiency through a comprehensive two-dimensional DEM study on the relationship between the particle-scale energy dissipation and shear band development. Novel insights into the energy allocation at the small-and large-strain stages, and the development of localized bands of sliding and rolling dissipations, as well as the anisotropy of accumulated sliding and rolling dissipations within the shear band are presented for the first time. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.