Particle crushing simulations with improved discontinuous deformation analysis

Purpose – Rock-fill dams are embankments of compacted free-draining granular earth containing an impervious zone. Earth utilized in such dams often contains a high percentage of large particles – hence the term rock-fill. Mass stability of these dams results from friction and particle interactions rather than through a cementing agent binding the particles together. However, high-stress conditions and prolonged exposure to the elements can severely damage rock-fill. Therefore, understanding and modeling rock-fill breakage is important for dam engineering. The purpose of this paper is to improve discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) techniques for modeling rock-fill breakage, proving the new method using simulations of spherical particle crushing. Design/methodology/approach – This work models rock-fill as bonded ellipsoid particles, and develops an improved DDA method to model the breakage of particle assemblies. The paper starts by describing the principles of three-dimensional DDA for spherical parti...

[1]  C. H. Juang,et al.  Vertex‐to‐face contact searching algorithm for three‐dimensional frictionless contact problems , 2005 .

[2]  Jian-Hong Wu,et al.  A new algorithm to identify contact patterns between convex blocks for three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis , 2008 .

[3]  P. Cundall,et al.  A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies , 1979 .

[4]  N. J. A. Sloane,et al.  Sphere Packings, Lattices and Groups , 1987, Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften.

[5]  Qinghui Jiang,et al.  Validation of block theory and three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis as wedge stability analysis methods , 2003 .

[6]  Lin Gao,et al.  Formulations of the three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis method , 2004 .

[7]  R. Zou,et al.  Packing structure of cohesive spheres. , 2004, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[8]  A. Munjiza.  The Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method , 2004 .

[9]  Q. H. Jiang,et al.  A Model of Point-to-Face Contact for Three-Dimensional Discontinuous Deformation Analysis , 2004 .

[10]  David R. Owen,et al.  Parallelised finite/discrete element simulation of multi‐fracturing solids and discrete systems , 2001 .

[11]  Yuzo Ohnishi,et al.  Theory of three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis and its application to a slope toppling at Amatoribashi, Japan , 2005 .

[12]  José V. Lemos,et al.  Procedure for contact detection in discrete element analysis , 2001 .