• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2019

In this article, the dynamic fracture instability characteristics, including dynamic crack propagation and crack branching, in PMMA brittle solids under dynamic loading are investigated using the discrete element method (DEM) simulations. The microscopic parameters in DEM are first calibrated using the comparison with the previous experimental results not only in the field of qualitative analysis, but also in the field of quantitative analysis. The calibrating process illustrates that the selected microscopic parameters in DEM are suitable to effectively and accurately simulate dynamic fracture process in PMMA brittle solids subjected to dynamic loads. The typical dynamic fracture behaviors of solids under dynamic loading are then reproduced by DEM. Compared with the previous experimental and numerical results, the present numerical results are in good agreement with the existing ones not only in the field of qualitative analysis, but also in the field of quantitative analysis. Furthermore, effects of dynamic loading magnitude, offset distance of the initial crack and initial crack length on dynamic fracture behaviors are numerically discussed.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-31
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• 2008

The present paper presents multiscale modelling via coupling of the discrete and finite element methods. Theoretical formulation of the discrete element method using spherical or cylindrical particles has been briefly reviewed. Basic equations of the finite element method using the explicit time integration have been given. The micr-macro transition for the discrete element method has been discussed. Theoretical formulations for macroscopic stress and strain tensors have been given. Determination of macroscopic constitutive properties using dimensionless micro-macro relationships has been proposed. The formulation of the multiscale DEM/FEM model employing the DEM and FEM in different subdomains of the same body has been presented. The coupling allows the use of partially overlapping DEM and FEM subdomains. The overlap zone in the two coupling algorithms is introduced in order to provide a smooth transition from one discretization method to the other. Coupling between the DEM and FEM subdomains is provided by additional kinematic constraints imposed by means of either the Lagrange multipliers or penalty function method. The coupled DEM/FEM formulation has been implemented in the authors' own numerical program. Good performance of the numerical algorithms has been demonstrated in a number of examples.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.477-493
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• 2003

Masonry is not a simple material, the influence of mortar joints as a plane of weakness is a significant feature and this makes the numerical modelling of masonry very difficult especially when dynamic (seismic) analysis is involved. In order to develop a simple numerical model for masonry under earthquake load, an analytical model based on Distinct Element Method (DEM) is being developed. At the first stage, the model is applied to simulate the in-plane shear behaviour of an unreinforced masonry wall with and without opening where the testing results are available for comparison. In DEM, a solid is represented as an assembly of discrete blocks. Joints are modelled as interface between distinct bodies. It is a dynamic process and specially designed to model the behaviour of discontinuities. The numerical solutions obtained from the distinct element analysis are validated by comparing the results with those obtained from existing experiments and finite element modelling.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.25-31
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• 2015

PURPOSES: Implementation and verification of the simple linear cohesive viscoelastic contact model that can be used to simulate dynamic behavior of sticky aggregates. METHODS: The differential equations were derived and the initial conditions were determined to simulate a free falling ball with a sticky surface from a ground. To describe this behavior, a combination of linear contact model and a cohesive contact model was used. The general solution for the differential equation was used to verify the implemented linear cohesive viscoelastic API model in the DEM. Sensitivity analysis was also performed using the derived analytical solutions for several combinations of damping coefficients and cohesive coefficients. RESULTS : The numerical solution obtained using the DEM showed good agreement with the analytical solution for two extreme conditions. It was observed that the linear cohesive model can be successfully implemented with a linear spring in the DEM API for dynamic analysis of the aggregates. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that the derived closed form solutions are applicable for the analysis of the rebounding behavior of sticky particles, and for verification of the implemented API model in the DEM. The assumption of underdamped condition for the viscous behavior of the particles seems to be reasonable. Several factors have to be additionally identified in order to develop an enhanced contact model for an asphalt mixture.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.03a
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• pp.136-145
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• 2009

Factors influencing shear behavior of granular material include particle size, shape, distribution, relative density, particle crushing, etc. In this study, these factors are characterized by viewpoint of shear behavior using numerical analysis based on DEM. Geometrical particle shape is represented by a combination of small circular particles and influence of particle shape on crushing is studied through relative comparisons between clump (uncrushable) and cluster (crushable) models which are modeled using DEM. Also, particle shape is quantified by the dimensionless parameters such as circularity and convexity. The results indicate that particle shape indexes have a negative association with internal friction angle. Also, internal friction angle becomes reduced and failure envelop curve becomes nonlinear due to the particle crushing. It is also found that numerical results are quite good agreement with the experimental test conducted in this study.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.344-351
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• 2001

In the tunnelling by blasting, the calculations of charge weight and the estimations of blasting effect have been simply carried out by empirical formulas. Also, it has been rare to consider the impact energy of blasting in numerical analyses. Thus in this study a numerical modeling technique of blasting load is developed and used with the 2 dimensional distinct element method(DEM) to consider the nonlinear behaviour of discontinuous underground structures. TD examine and verify its applicability of the numerical model to actual problems, a blasting of tunnel under an embankment is numerically analysed with DEM. It is examined that the behavior of circumference structures, the displacements of above- and under-ground structures, and the propagation of particle velocities can be known by this numerical analysis. As a result, the blasting load model, proposed by this study, can be applied to actual problems. This model applied with DEM can be used in the examination of structural stability.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.785-791
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• 2007

In this paper we proposed a model that the deformation of the submerged rubble mound breakwaters composed with materials of various size, induced by wave action, can be computed. The water particle kinematics by waves in porous mound structure are computed by CADMAS-SURF, then the deformation of structure is computed using DEM module. To investigate the interaction of wave and sectional deformation of structures, analysis is accomplished by two steps. Analysis at the first step is executed with incipient mound. And analysis at the second step is executed with deformed mound by wave action. Furthermore, behaviors of materials are influenced by various properties such as the contact stiffness and the friction angle. Therefore, in order to present the behavior of the element caused by various properties, computations are accomplished with random coefficients by using the Monte Carlo simulation.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1029-1044
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• 2017

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is one of the useful numerical methods to analyze the behavior of the ground formation by computing the motion and interaction using particles. The DEM has not been applied in civil engineering but also a wide range of industrial fields, such as chemical engineering, pharmacy, material science, food engineering, etc. In this study, to review a performance of the spoke-type earth pressure balance (EPB) shield TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), the commercial software based on the DEM technology was used. An analysis of the TBM during excavation was conducted according to two pre-defined excavation conditions with the different rotation speed of a cutterhead. During the analysis, the resistant torque at the face of the cutterhead, the compressive force at the cutterhead and shield surface, the muck discharge at the screw auger were measured and compared. Upon the two kinds of excavation conditions, the applicability of the DEM analysis was reviewed as a modelling method for the TBM.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.484-495
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• 2020

To numerically simulate the advance of EPB TBM, various type of numerical analysis methods have been adopted including discrete element method (DEM), finite element method (FEM), and finite difference method (FDM). In this paper, an EPB TBM driving model was proposed by using coupled DEM-FDM. In the numerical model, DEM was applied in the TBM excavation area, and contact properties of particles were calibrated by a series of triaxial tests. Since the ground around the excavation area was coupled with FDM, the horizontal stress considering the coefficient of earth pressure at rest could be applied. Also, the number of required particles was reduced and the efficiency of the analysis was increased. The proposed model can control the advance rate and rotational speed of the cutter head and screw conveyor, and derive the torque, thrust force, chamber pressure, and discharging during TBM tunnelling.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.129-139
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• 2018

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been widely used in granular material researches. Especially, if material has a large deformation, such as ground, it can be a useful method to analyze. In this study, to simulate ground formations, DEM was used. The main purpose of DEM analysis was to investigate the numerical model which can predict the TBM performance by simulating excavating procedure. The selected EPB TBM has a 7.73 m of diameter and six spokes. And two pre-defined excavation conditions with the different rotation speeds per minute (RPM) of the cutterhead was applied. In the modeled cutterhead, the open ratio of cutterhead was 21.31% and number of cutters (including disc cutter and cutter bit) was 219. From the results, reaction forces and resistant torques at the cutterhead face and cutting tools, were measured and compared. Additionally the muck discharge rate and accumulated muck discharge by the screw auger were evaluated.