Quantifying the Evolution of Soil Fabric Under Different Stress Paths

It is well recognized that the macro‐scale response of soils is anisotropic in terms of strength, stiffness, permeability, etc. The source of this anisotropy is thought to be an anisotropy of the material itself. This anisotropy can be quantified using statistical methods if DEM numerical simulations or advanced experimental techniques are used. The anisotropic response of soil has been analyzed by many researchers in terms of the fabric tensor, which provides a measure of the orientation of the contacts between particles. Although many approaches for the quantification of the evolution of soil fabric have been used, they have not been previously compared to assess their effectiveness to describe fabric changes. A direct comparison of different methods of fabric quantification is presented in this paper based on the results from DEM simulations under different stress paths and the suitability of each of these methods is discussed. The results highlight the need for more accurate methods and/or approaches to accurately describe the evolution of fabric anisotropy in granular materials.