A characteristic length scale in confined elastic buckling of a force chain

Antoinette Tordesillas, Giles Hunt, Jingyu Shi

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20 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

We examine the confined elastic buckling of a single N-particle force chain. For a given set of material parameters, a characteristic load-carrying capacity is attained for a clearly defined range of force chain lengths N L*. The rotation and translation of particles along periodically located segments of the critical buckling mode, each of length L*, are on average consistent with those for particles inside the shear band. Preliminary results from postbuckling analysis show that the critical buckling mode is unstable and that buckling culminates in a localized response over one of these segments where observed shear band kinematics prevail. Thus, the localized buckling response is characterized by the rotation of a finite number of particles with a clearly defined length L*. For a wide range of material properties, L* is around eight particle diameters-the observed shear band thickness for many granular materials, most notably sand.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)215-218
Number of pages4
JournalGranular Matter
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2011

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