Microscopic study on stress-strain relation of granular materials

A biaxial shearing test on granular materials is numerically simulated by distinct element method (DEM). The evolution of the microstructures of granular materials during isotropic compression and shearing is investigated, on which a yield function is derived. The new yield function has a similar form as the one used in the modified Cam-clay model and explains the yield characteristics of granular materials under the isotropic compression and shear process through the change of the contact distribution N(θ) defining the contacts at particle contact angle θ.