Modeling of Particulate Media Using Discontinuous Deformation Analysis

This paper presents a complete formulation of the discontinuous deformation analysis for a particulate medium consisting exclusively of two-dimensional disks bounded by rigid boundaries. Particles are modeled as circular, rigid disks, and interactions, which are governed by Coulomb friction, are controlled through the use of contact normal and shear springs. The rigid boundaries can be fixed or assigned a velocity-time relationship; a variety of displacement constraints and damping terms are also modeled. Dynamic equilibrium is fully satisfied, and the no penetration and no tension interparticle constraints are essentially maintained throughout the analysis. The resulting computer code, DDAD, can be used to efficiently perform analyses; it serves as a versatile tool for modeling the complex behavior of granular materials.