An experimental and numerical study on the compressive behavior of sand-rubber particle mixtures

This paper discusses the behavior of sand-rubber particle mixtures under one-dimensional compression tests. First, experimental results on ideally prepared sand-rubber particle mixtures with different rubber contents are discussed. Then, novel simulations using the Discrete Element Method are presented. The grain-scale deform ability of the rubber particles is considered using a bonded particle model. The model is calibrated based on the experimental results of pure sand and pure rubber and it is further validated for all intermediate rubber contents. The numerical model is able to accurately predict the compressive behavior of the mixtures as well as the residual strain.