ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the feasibility of numerically simulating the behaviour of cohesionless granular media and highlights the power of discrete element modelling. In the area of geomechanics and mechanics of materials, discrete particle simulation is known as Distinct Element Method (DEM). DEM models granular materials which can freely make and break contacts with their neighbours and is capable of analysing interacting deformable bodies undergoing large absolute or relative motions. DEM can be imagined as a network of lumped-mass dashpot elements in which damped linear springs connect the elements. One of the important elements of the DEM model is the explicit incorporation of Coulomb’s frictional behaviour at contacts between particles. In an assembly of particles, particles interact at contacts through the forces that depend upon the deformation of the particle at their contact and the frictional properties of contact points. To relate micromechanical characteristics to macroscopic behaviour, fabric description is an essential element.
