Micromechanical investigation of the shear behaviors of sand-rubber mixtures using a multibody meshfree method

This study investigates the effect of rubber content (RC) on the mechanical properties of sand-rubber mixtures (SRMs) using a multibody meshfree approach, which permits faithful modeling of the deformation of rubber particles. A series of two-dimensional simple shear tests is performed on SRMs with different RC. The results indicate a decreased peak shear strength but an increased residual shear strength with increasing RC. The evolutions of microscopic features during shearing are examined. Both the coordination number and the contact length of SRMs progressively increase with RC owing to the deformation of rubber particles. The primary force transmission is sustained by sand particles for SRMs with smaller RC, but controlled by both sand and rubber particles with larger RC. The incorporation of rubber particles results in more uniformly distributed contact forces compared to the pure sand specimen. The particle kinematics reveals and explains the less vulnerability of SRMs to strain localization.