Micro-macro analysis of granular material behavior along proportional strain paths

When granular materials are subjected to proportional strain loading paths, they manifest a variety of behaviors depending on the initial void ratio of the specimen as well as the imposed dilatancy/contractancy rate. In some cases, the stress components may vanish over the duration of the test, and the specimen may progressively liquefy. To investigate this behavior, the authors have developed a kinematic approach to be deployed in two parts. First, numerical simulations are performed by means of a discrete element method. Secondly, two micromechanical models have corroborated the DEM results. The performance of these models may explain a number of microstructural mechanisms responsible for the macroscopic constitutive behavior.