ABSTRACT
Experimental observation of the way sand grains are packed around each other and how this packing evolves during loading is di- cult. In a DEM simulation detailed information on the internal structure of a granular material can be accessed at any point. As already established in Chapter 8, the topology of the system of particles and contacts is highly complex. A means to unravel or make sense of these data is needed to establish the link between the particle scale mechanics and the overall macro-scale response. This Chapter describes procedures to quantify the internal structure of a granular material, considering the packing density of the of particles and the preferential orientations of the particles and contacts. Many techniques can be applied to analyse the data available for output from a DEM simulation; here the more commonly used approaches are presented and the information provided should hopefully point DEM analysts in the right direction as they try to make sense of their simulation results.
