Discrete element simulation of crushable rockfill materials

A discrete element method was used to study the evolution of particle crushing in a rockfill sample subjected to triaxial shear. A simple procedure was developed to generate clusters with arbitrary shapes, which resembled real rockfill particles. A theoretical method was developed to define the failure criterion for an individual particle subjected to an arbitrary set of contact forces. Then, a series of numerical tests of large-scale drained triaxial tests were conducted to simulate the behaviors of the rockfill sample. Finally, we examined the development of micro-characteristics such as particle crushing, contact characteristics, porosity, deformation, movement, and energy dissipation. The simulation results were partially compared with the laboratory experiments, and good agreement was achieved, demonstrating that the particle crushing model proposed can be used to simulate the drained triaxial test of rockfill materials. Based on a comparison of macro behaviors of the rockfill sample and micro structures of the particles, the microscopic mechanism of the rockfill materials subjected to triaxial shear was determined qualitatively. It is shown that the crushing rate, rather than the number of crushed particles, can be used to reflect the relationship between macro- and micro-mechanical characteristics of rockfill materials. These research results further develop our understanding of the deformation mechanism of rockfill materials.