Particulate modeling of cementation effects on small and large strain behaviors in granular material

Most previous studies of cemented sands have focused on quantifying response at either the element scale or the field scale based on laboratory or in-situ test results. These studies provide important practical information about the engineering behavior of cemented sands, but often generate little knowledge about the underlying physics that governs the response at readily observable physical scales. The current study seeks to provide some insight into the particle-level mechanics of cemented sands through the use of discrete element method simulations that have been calibrated to a test bed of physical results previously reported in the literature. Numerical particle assemblies are subjected to applied boundary stresses and evolutions in bond breakage, shear wave velocity, assembly fabric, and contact forces are observed. Important similarities and differences in the load-carrying response of bonded and unbonded granular materials are observed and quantified. Shortcomings of traditional approaches to modeling cemented sands are identified.