Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime
Abstract While the shear behavior of granular soils is directly related to the microstructure of contacts which often leads to the coaxiality between Cauchy stress and Satake fabric tensors, it is generally accepted by the geomechanics and geotechnical engineering community that the capillary effect...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2024-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Geo-Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40703-024-00211-7 |
| _version_ | 1797199712051265536 |
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| author | Hyoung Suk Suh |
| author_facet | Hyoung Suk Suh |
| author_sort | Hyoung Suk Suh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract While the shear behavior of granular soils is directly related to the microstructure of contacts which often leads to the coaxiality between Cauchy stress and Satake fabric tensors, it is generally accepted by the geomechanics and geotechnical engineering community that the capillary effects are isotropic. At low saturation levels, however, the pore fluid tends to form interparticle menisci that can also manifest an anisotropic structure, which may result in the development of anisotropic capillarity in wetted granular media. To study the interplay between the solid grain contacts and the liquid bridges at the micro-scales, this study adopts a coupled discrete element method that utilizes a linear contact model combined with a capillary model, and explores their effects by conducting a series of numerical experiments. The distributions of contact and capillary force orientations during the experiment are further investigated to better understand how their alignments affect the global response of the granular assembly subjected to a deviatoric loading. The results indicate that the global shear stress response is not only affected by the contact fabric but also by the network of liquid bridges, and we also observe that the particles may lose contact while the pendular menisci may not be destroyed during the elastic unloading. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:20:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd58ade53ca846b3b8887fdc67a37f9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2198-2783 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:20:06Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Geo-Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd58ade53ca846b3b8887fdc67a37f9e2024-04-21T11:07:29ZengSpringerOpenInternational Journal of Geo-Engineering2198-27832024-04-0115111110.1186/s40703-024-00211-7Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regimeHyoung Suk Suh0Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Case Western Reserve UniversityAbstract While the shear behavior of granular soils is directly related to the microstructure of contacts which often leads to the coaxiality between Cauchy stress and Satake fabric tensors, it is generally accepted by the geomechanics and geotechnical engineering community that the capillary effects are isotropic. At low saturation levels, however, the pore fluid tends to form interparticle menisci that can also manifest an anisotropic structure, which may result in the development of anisotropic capillarity in wetted granular media. To study the interplay between the solid grain contacts and the liquid bridges at the micro-scales, this study adopts a coupled discrete element method that utilizes a linear contact model combined with a capillary model, and explores their effects by conducting a series of numerical experiments. The distributions of contact and capillary force orientations during the experiment are further investigated to better understand how their alignments affect the global response of the granular assembly subjected to a deviatoric loading. The results indicate that the global shear stress response is not only affected by the contact fabric but also by the network of liquid bridges, and we also observe that the particles may lose contact while the pendular menisci may not be destroyed during the elastic unloading.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40703-024-00211-7Unsaturated soilPendular regimeAnisotropic capillary stressDiscrete element methodFabric |
| spellingShingle | Hyoung Suk Suh Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime International Journal of Geo-Engineering Unsaturated soil Pendular regime Anisotropic capillary stress Discrete element method Fabric |
| title | Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime |
| title_full | Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime |
| title_fullStr | Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime |
| title_short | Evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime |
| title_sort | evolution of anisotropic capillarity in unsaturated granular media within the pendular regime |
| topic | Unsaturated soil Pendular regime Anisotropic capillary stress Discrete element method Fabric |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40703-024-00211-7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hyoungsuksuh evolutionofanisotropiccapillarityinunsaturatedgranularmediawithinthependularregime |