Influence of Force Chains Behaviors on Strength of Al/W/PTFE Granular Composite

Mesoscale simulation is conducted to investigate the effect of force chains between metal particles on the mechanical behavior of aluminum-tungsten-polytetrafluoroethylene (Al/W/PTFE) granular composite under a strain-controlled loading. A two-dimensional model followed the random distribution of particles is developed. Dynamic simulations are performed with variations in the size of Al particles to reveal the strength and fracture mechanisms of the composites. The results indicate that, force chains governed by the number and the size of metal particles significantly affects the global compressive response and macro-cracks propagation. The stability and reconstruction of mesoscale force chains explain the phenomenon that a higher strength is observed in the material with fine Al particles. Combined with the angle between particles, we examine the properties of force chains and the network as they evolve during the course of the deformation. Findings indicate that reactive composites tend to produce shorter chains, and straighter force chains with a smaller force angle result in a macroscopically stronger granular material.

An Experimental Study of the Effect of Particle Shape on Force Transmission and Mobilized Strength of Granular Materials

Force chains have been regarded as an important hallmark of granular materials. Numerous studies have examined their evolution, properties, and statistics in highly idealized, often circular-shaped, granular assemblies. However, particles found in nature and handled in industries come in a wide variety of shapes. In this paper, we experimentally investigate the robustness of force chains with respect to particle shape. We present a detailed analysis on the particle- to continuum-scale response of granular materials affected by particle shape, that includes the force transmission and mobilized shear strength. The effect of shape is studied by comparing experimental results collected from shear tests performed on 2D analogue circular- and arbitrarily-shaped granular assemblies. Particle shapes are directly discretized from X-Ray CT images of a real sand sample. By inferring individual contact forces using the Granular Element Method (GEM), we provide a direct visualization of the force network, a statistical characterization of the force transmission and a quantitative description of the shear strength in terms of rolling, sliding and interlocking contact mechanisms. We report that force chains are less prevalent in assemblies of arbitrarily-shaped particles than in circular-shaped samples. Furthermore, interlocking is identified as the essential contact mechanism that (1) furnishes a stable structure for force chains to emerge and (2) explains the enhanced shear strength observed in the arbitrarily-shaped samples. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for particle shape to capture and predict the complex mechanical behavior of granular materials across scales.

Estimating Contact Force Chains Using Artificial Neural Network

The inhomogeneous distribution of contact force chains (CFC) in quasi-statically sheared granular materials dominates their bulk mechanical properties. Although previous micromechanical investigations have gained significant insights into the statistical and spatial distribution of CFC, they still lack the capacity to quantitatively estimate CFC evolution in a sheared granular system. In this paper, an artificial neural network (ANN) based on discrete element method (DEM) simulation data is developed and applied to predict the anisotropy of CFC in an assembly of spherical grains undergoing a biaxial test. Five particle-scale features including particle size, coordination number, x- and y-velocity (i.e., x and y-components of the particle velocity), and spin, which all contain predictive information about the CFC, are used to establish the ANN. The results of the model prediction show that the combined features of particle size and coordination number have a dominating influence on the CFC’s estimation. An excellent model performance manifested in a close match between the rose diagrams of the CFC from the ANN predictions and DEM simulations is obtained with a mean accuracy of about 0.85. This study has shown that machine learning is a promising tool for studying the complex mechanical behaviors of granular materials.

Force chain structure in a rod-withdrawn granular layer

When a rod is vertically withdrawn from a granular layer, oblique force chains can be developed by effective shearing. In this study, the force-chain structure in a rod-withdrawn granular layer was experimentally investigated using a photoelastic technique. The rod is vertically withdrawn from a two-dimensional granular layer consisting of bidisperse photoelastic disks. During the withdrawal, the development process of force chains is visualized by the photoelastic effect. By systematic analysis of photoelastic images, force chain structures newly developed by the rod withdrawing are identified and analyzed. In particular, the relation between the rod-withdrawing force [Formula: see text], total force-chains force [Formula: see text], and their average orientation [Formula: see text] are discussed. We find that the oblique force chains are newly developed by withdrawing. The force-chain angle [Formula: see text] is almost constant (approximately [Formula: see text] from the horizontal), and the total force [Formula: see text] gradually increases by the withdrawal. In addition, [Formula: see text] shows a clear correlation with [Formula: see text].

The granularity of sand: Analogies of production, consumption, and distribution

Due to high global demand, sand is known as a scarce and controversial resource. Jamieson’s article, ‘For Granular Geography’, starts from this premise, presenting force chains, friction, and phase transitions to illustrate production, consumption, and distribution processes of sand from upstream to downstream by means of analogies. This commentary is divided into two parts. The first section discusses how these three elements are used as analogies, with particular attention to Singapore. The second part reflects on the added value and limitations of such an approach, drawing on a specific case study of land reclamation.