Influences of stiffness ratio, friction coefficient and strength ratio on the macro behavior of cemented sand based on DEM

Abstract

A study was conducted on cemented sand modeled with a contact bond model to investigate the influences of micro parameters on its macro properties based on a three dimensional discrete element simulation. The influences of the micro parameters of the stiffness ratio, the strength ratio and the friction coefficient on the unconfined compression behavior of the cemented sand are revealed and a qualitative relationship is established between each individual micro parameter and the macro properties of Young’s modulus and compressive strength based on 3D numerical discrete element simulation data. The results are important for the multi-scale study and will offer guidance to use the discrete element method, to model cemented sands or cemented aggregates.