• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.496-507
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• 2020

A prediction of the performance of EPB TBM is significant for improving the constructability of tunnels. Thus, various attempts to simulate TBM excavation by the numerical method have been made until these days. In this paper, to evaluate the performance of TBM with different operating conditions, a parametric study was carried out using coupled discrete element method (DEM) and finite difference method (FDM) EPB TBM driving model. The analysis was conducted by changing the penetration rate (0.5 and 1.0 mm/sec) and the rotational speed of screw conveyor (5, 15, and 25 rpm) while the rotation velocity of the cutter head kept constant at 2 rpm. The torque, thrust force, chamber pressure, and discharging with different TBM operating conditions were compared. The result of parametric study shows that the optimum driving condition can be determined by the coupled DEM-FDM numerical model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.343-361
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• 2010

The Discrete Element Method adopting particles for the domain discretization has recently been adopted in fracture studies of non-homogeneous continuous media such as concrete and rock. A model is proposed in which the reinforcement is modelled by 1D rigid-spring discrete elements. The rigid bars interact with the rigid circular particles that simulate the concrete through contact interfaces. The DEM enhanced model with reinforcement capabilities is evaluated using three point bending and four point bending tests on reinforced concrete beams without stirrups. Under three point bending, the model is shown to reproduce the expected final crack pattern, the crack propagation and the load displacement diagram. Under four point bending, the model is shown to match the experimental ultimate load, the size effect and the crack propagation and localization.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.33-42
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• 2016

Discrete Element Method was conducted for rock and coarse-grained materials in development of granular mechanics and related numerical model due to analyze and apply micromechanical property. And it was verified that the analysis to consider bonding effect was insufficient. In this study, to overcome limits of existing method, it was conducted to analyze difference between indoor test result and bonding effect using $PFC^{3D)}$. For indoor test of mixed soil, uniaxial compression tests by curing time and by cement content were performed. And, DEM to suitable for each condition of indoor test was conducted. In the result of this study, in terms of geotechnics, it was verified that DEM can be used for application as numerical laboratory as well as prediction of micro and macro behavior about bonding effect of mixed soil.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2020

In this study, a procedure was introduced to estimate strength and deformation modulus of the 3-D discrete fracture network(DFN) systems using the distinct element method(DEM). Fracture entities were treated as non-persistent square planes in the DFN systems. Systematically generated fictitious fractures having similar mechanical characteristics of intact rock were combined with non-persistent real fractures to create polyhedral blocks in the analysis domain. Strength and deformation modulus for 10 m cube domain of various deterministic and stochastic 3-D DFN systems were estimated using the DEM to explore the applicability of suggested method and to examine the effect of fracture geometry on strength and deformability of DFN systems. The suggested procedures were found to effective in estimating anisotropic strength and deformability of the 3-D DFN systems.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.521-532
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• 2021

Present paper focuses on the modeling of size effect on the compressive strength of normal concrete with the application of Discrete Element Method (DEM). Test specimens with different size and shape were cast and uniaxial compressive strength test was performed on each sample. Five different concrete mixes were used, all belonging to a different normal strength concrete class (C20/25, C30/37, C35/45, C45/55, and C50/60). The numerical simulations were carried out by using the PFC 5 software, which applies rigid spheres and contacts between them to model the material. DEM modeling of size effect could be advantageous because the development of micro-cracks in the material can be observed and the failure mode can be visualized. The series of experiments were repeated with the model after calibration. The relationship of the parallel bond strength of the contacts and the laboratory compressive strength test was analyzed by aiming to determine a relation between the compressive strength and the bond strength of different sized models. An equation was derived based on Bazant's size effect law to estimate the parallel bond strength of differently sized specimens. The parameters of the equation were optimized based on measurement data using nonlinear least-squares method with SSE (sum of squared errors) objective function. The laboratory test results showed a good agreement with the literature data (compressive strength is decreasing with the increase of the size of the specimen regardless of the shape). The derived estimation models showed strong correlation with the measurement data. The results indicated that the size effect is stronger on concretes with lower strength class due to the higher level of inhomogeneity of the material. It was observed that size effect is more significant on cube specimens than on cylinder samples, which can be caused by the side ratios of the specimens and the size of the purely compressed zone. A limit value for the minimum size of DE model for cubes and cylinder was determined, above which the size effect on compressive strength can be neglected within the investigated size range. The relationship of model size (particle number) and computational time was analyzed and a method to decrease the computational time (number of iterations) of material genesis is proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.63-69
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• 2006

In this paper, a method is presented for estimating the bearing capacity of shallow foundations based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM). By applying Winkler-springs for accounting for the compatibility between soil blocks, the proposed method can estimate the state of stress at failure surface and the ultimate bearing capacity. For the investigation of the application of the method, example problems about shallow foundations on the single layer and two layers soil are analyzed.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.36-43
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• 2022

The general screen used to separate the particle size of recycled aggregate has restrictions when dealing with moisturized materials because of the blockage phenomenon. Therefore, in this study, to improve the separation efficiency of the conventional screen, the excellence of additional vibrating device based on spring was decided by a simulation experiment based on the discrete element method (DEM). The motion characteristic was investigated by analyzing the displacement, amplitude, and strain angle based on the spring design. Further, the particle motion was simulated by applying spring motion. The material flow and separation efficiency of the screen applied spring were confirmed as 9.2 kg/s and 97 %, respectively. Consequently, the improvement in the screen applied with blockage prevention spring was confirmed by comparing with the conventional screen.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.255-267
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• 2017

Soft clay strata can suffer significant settlement or stability problems under building loads. Among the methods proposed to strengthen weak soils is the application of a stone masonry trench (SMT) beneath RC strip foundations (as a masonry pad-stone). Although, SMTs are frequently employed in engineering practice; however, the effectiveness of SMTs on the ultimate bearing capacity improvement of a strip footing rested on a weak clay stratum has not been investigated quantitatively, yet. Therefore, the expected increase of bearing capacity of strip footings reinforced with SMTs is of interest and needs to be evaluated. This study presents a two-dimensional numerical model using the discrete element method (DEM) to capture the ultimate load-bearing capacity of a strip footing on a soft clay reinforced with a SMT. The developed DEM model was then used to perform a parametric study to investigate the effects of SMT geometry and properties on the footing bearing capacity with and without the presence of surcharge. The dimensions of the SMTs were varied to determine the optimum trench relative depth. The study showed that inclusion of a SMT of optimum dimension in a soft clay can improve the bearing capacity of a strip footing up to a factor of 3.5.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.300-304
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• 2020

In this paper, a durability study is presented to enhance the mechanical properties of an Fe-Si-Al powder-based magnetic core, through the addition of graphite. The compressive properties of Fe-Si-Al-graphite powder mixtures are explored using discrete element method (DEM), and a powder compaction experiment is performed under identical conditions to verify the reliability of the DEM analysis. Important parameters for powder compaction of Fe-Si-Al-graphite powder mixtures are identified. The compressibility of the powders is observed to increase as the amount of graphite mixture increases and as the size of the graphite powders decreases. In addition, the compaction properties of the Fe-Si-Al-graphite powder mixtures are further explored by analyzing the transmissibility of stress between the top and bottom punches as well as the distribution of the compressive force. The application of graphite powders is confirmed to result in improved stress transmission and compressive force distribution, by 24% and 51%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.337-341
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• 2005

Algorithm for passenger flow analysis based on DEM(Discrete Element Method) is newly developed. In the new algorithm, there are many similarity between multi phase flow and passenger flow. The velocity component of 1st phase corresponds to the direction vector of cell, each particle to each passenger, volume fraction to population density and the momentum equation of particle to the walking velocity equation of passenger, etc. And, the walking velocity of passenger is also represented by the function of population density. Key algorithms are developed to determine the position of passenger, population density and numbering to each passenger, To verify the effectiveness of new algorithm, passenger flow analysis for simple railway station model is conducted. The results for passenger flow in the model station are satisfying qualitatively and quantitatively.