Nonlinear elasto-plastic model for dense granular flow

TL;DR

This paper introduces a unified nonlinear elasto-plastic continuum model for dense granular flows that accurately predicts stress and velocity profiles in various 3D geometries, aligning well with experimental and simulation data.

Contribution

It combines existing models into a universal law using a Kroner-Lee decomposition, ensuring physical principles are maintained and enabling comprehensive flow predictions.

Findings

Model accurately predicts flow and stagnant zones.

Numerical results agree with experiments and simulations.

Unified approach improves understanding of dense granular flow behavior.

Abstract

This work proposes a model for granular deformation that predicts the stress and velocity profiles in well-developed dense granular flows. Recent models for granular elasticity (Jiang and Liu 2003) and rate-sensitive plastic flow (Jop et al. 2006) are reformulated and combined into one universal granular continuum law, capable of predicting flowing regions and stagnant zones simultaneously in any arbitrary 3D flow geometry. The unification is performed by justifying and implementing a Kroner-Lee elasto-plastic decomposition, with care taken to ensure certain continuum physical principles are necessarily upheld. The model is then numerically implemented in multiple geometries and results are compared to experiments and discrete simulations.