• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.21-29
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• 2013

PURPOSES: Simulation of aggregate slump test using equivalent sphere particle in DEM and its validity evaluation against lab aggregate slump test METHODS : In this research, aggregate slump tests are performed and compared with DEM simulation. To utilize spheric particles in YADE, equivalent sphere diameter concept is applied. As verification measures, the volume in slump cone filled with aggregate is used and it is compared with volume in slump cone filled with equivalent sphere particle. Slump height and diameter are also used to evaluate the suggested numerical method with equivalent concept RESULTS : Simulation test results show good agrement with lab test results in terms of loose packing volume, height and diameter of slumped particle clump. CONCLUSIONS : It is concluded that numerical simulation using DEM is applicable to evaluate the effect of aggregate morphological property in loose packing and optimum gradation determination based on the aggregate slump test simulation result.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.455-470
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• 2016

In ballasted railway tracks, ballast fouling due to finer material intrusion has been identified as a challenging issue in track maintenance works. In this research, deformation characteristics of crushed stone-sand mixtures, simulating fresh and fouled ballasts were studied from laboratory and a 3-D discrete element method (DEM) triaxial compression tests. The DEM simulation was performed using a recently developed DEM approach, named, Yet Another Dynamic Engine (YADE). First, void ratio characteristics of crushed stone-sand mixtures were studied. Then, triaxial compression tests were conducted on specimens with 80 and 50% of relative densities simulating dense and loose states respectively. Initial DEM simulations were conducted using sphere particles. As stress-strain behaviour of crushed stone-sand mixtures evaluated by sphere particles were different from laboratory specimens, in next DEM simulations, the particles were modeled by a clump particle. The clump shape was selected using shape indexes of the actual particles evaluated by an image analysis. It was observed that the packing behaviour of laboratory crushed stone-sand mixtures were matched well with the DEM simulation with clump particles. The results also showed that the strength properties of crushed stone deteriorate when they are mixed by 30% or more of sand, specially under dense state. The results also showed that clump particles give closer stress-strain behaviour to laboratory specimens than sphere particles.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.329-342
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• 2008

A local behavior law, which includes elasticity, plasticity and damage, is developed in a three dimensional numerical model for concrete. The model is based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM)and the computational implementation has been carried out in the numerical Code YADE. This model was used to study the response of a concrete slab impacted by a rigid missile, and focuses on the extension of the compacted zone. To do so, the model was first used to simulate compression and hydrostatic tests. Once the local constitutive law parameters of the discrete element model were calibrated, the numerical model simulated the impact of a rigid missile used as a reference case to be compared to an experimental data set. From this reference case, simulations were carried out to show the importance of compaction during an impact and how it expands depending on the different impact conditions. Moreover, the numerical results were compared to empirical predictive formulae for penetration and perforation cases, demonstrating the importance of taking into account the local compaction process in the local interaction law between discrete elements.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.353-367
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• 2023

The construction of a protective embankment is a suitable strategy to stop and control high-energy rock blocks' impacts during the rockfall phenomenon. In this paper, based on the discrete element numerical method, by modeling an existing embankment reinforced with geogrid, its stability status under the impact of a rock block with two types of low and high kinetic energy, namely 2402 and 4180 kJ, respectively, has been investigated. The modeling results show that the use of geogrid has caused the displacement in the front and back of the embankment to decrease by more than 30%. In this case, the reinforced embankment has stopped the rock block earlier. The displacements obtained from the DEM modeling are compared with the displacements measured from an actual practical experiment to evaluate the results' validity. Comparison between the results shows that the displacement values are close together, while the maximum percentage error in previous studies by an analytical method and the finite element method was 76.4% and 36.6%, respectively. Therefore, the obtained results indicate the discrete numerical method's high ability compared to other numerical and analytical methods to simulate and design the geogrid-reinforced soil embankment under natural disasters such as rockfall with a minor error.