Multiscale Phenomena in the Solid-Liquid Transition State of a Granular Material.

摘要

This project, with Antoinette Tordesillas of U of Melbourne, investigated models for the upper soil surface and its response to applied loads. We have examined key aspects above, experimentally and with computer simulations. We developed new micromechanically-based continuum models with predictive capabilities for multiscale phenomena in the soil/granular liquid- solid regime, based on the experiments and simulations. The Duke work involved detailed experiments that provided detailed information about the collective and local properties of granular materials subject to shear and compression. We have shown that the jamming of granular materials is fundamentally different than for other frictionless particular systems. In collaboration with Antoinette Tordesillas, and using our photoelastic experiments, we have developed and tested a new stability method for characterizing granular materials, specifically at the level of clusters and networks.