Numerical simulations of deviatoric shear deformation of granular media

Quasi-static shear deformation of granular media is examined by performing numerical simulations on polydisperse systems of elastic spheres in a periodic cell. Results of axisymmetric compression test simulations are reported for both a dense and a loose system. At the macroscopic scale, the simulated stress–strain–dilation responses are in excellent qualitative agreement with the mechanical behaviour of sand observed in real experiments....